Letter to Mr. Larry Page, Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman

Letter

June 10, 2011

Mr. Larry Page
Chief Executive Officer
Google, Inc.
1600 Amphitheater Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043

Mr. Eric Schmidt
Executive Chairman
Google, Inc.
1600 Amphitheater Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043

Dear Mr. Page and Mr. Schmidt:

As you know, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights intends to hold a hearing in the coming weeks on competition issues pertaining to Internet search, an important topic for millions of Americans and a critical aspect of our nation's economy. We write to request that Google testify at the hearing and, specifically, that one of you appear as the company's witness.

Google is the preeminent provider of Internet search, and a hearing on this important topic would be incomplete without the direct perspective and views from one of Google's top two executives, each of whom has played a prominent role at the company throughout the last decade. Your Washington office has proposed to our staffs that your Chief Legal Officer, David Drummond, testify instead. We strongly prefer to have one of you as the witness representing Google at the hearing, which will address fundamental questions of business operations rather than merely legal issues. Given your positions as Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Chairman and former Chief Executive officer, respectively, we request that one of you testify.

In particular, the Antitrust Subcommittee has enjoyed a good working relationship with Mr. Schmidt in the past and has greatly benefited from our interactions. We are confident that he would make a significant contribution to our hearing.

We plan to hold the hearing before the August congressional recess. We are ware of your busy schedules and will work to find a mutually agreeable date. To afford you maximum flexibility, we will seek to accommodate your schedules and would be pleased to have either of you testify on behalf of Google prior to the August recess. We would very much prefer to work this out be agreement rather than needing to resort to more formal procedures.

Accordingly, we respectfully request a response to this letter within the next five days. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

[S]
Herb Kohl
Chairman
Subcommittee on Antitrust,
Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights

[S]
Michael S. Lee
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Antitrust,
Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights

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