Media Contact:
Matthew Berry, (202) 418-2005
matthew.berry@fcc.gov
For Immediate Release
STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI
On the D.C. Circuit’s Stay of the Commission’s Order
Kicking Latina Broadcasters Out of the Incentive Auction
WASHINGTON, March 18, 2016.—For the second time in two weeks, the D.C. Circuit has taken the 
extraordinary step of staying a decision made by the Federal Communications Commission.  I dissented 
from each of these unlawful decisions, and I am pleased that the court has stepped in to provide badly 
needed judicial oversight.
On top of that, just last week a dozen U.S. Senators, including Senators Dick Durbin, Charles 
Schumer, Roy Blunt, and Ron Johnson, told the Commission that they were “extremely disturbed” that 
the Commission had “ignored bipartisan concerns” and was “bypass[ing]” the law—in that case, a 
recently-passed statute that explicitly grandfathered existing joint sales agreements between television 
stations.
That the courts and Congress have felt compelled to intervene in these ways suggests the agency 
lacks respect for the rule of law.  The message is clear:  The Commission needs to follow the law and 
return to the tradition of bipartisan, collaborative decision-making.
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Office of Commissioner Ajit Pai: (202) 418-2000
Twitter: @AjitPaiFCC
www.fcc.gov/leadership/ajit-pai
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official
action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).