1. United States
2. Ala.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge your immediate attention to the proposed approximately $111 billion merger between Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). While this transaction is being framed as a standard media consolidation story, it is actually the final piece of a dominant infrastructure layer controlled by a single family—the Ellisons—that now sits beneath our media, healthcare, and national defense systems.  As an Alabamian, I am deeply concerned about the lack of regulatory oversight regarding the significant conflicts of interest created by Oracle Corporation’s expanding footprint: • Unprecedented Data Concentration: Oracle recently secured a landmark contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to host data for over 150 million Americans. Simultaneously, Oracle serves as the "trusted technology partner" for TikTok’s U.S. operations and provides the cloud infrastructure for the U.S. Air Force and 18 Intelligence Community agencies.  • The "Financial Loop": Larry Ellison is personally guaranteeing $44.6 billion for the Paramount-WBD deal, secured against Oracle stock. This creates a circular dependency where federal tax dollars flow to Oracle, supporting the stock price that collateralizes a massive media acquisition which, in turn, runs on Oracle infrastructure.  • The Revolving Door: Former CMS Administrator Seema Verma now serves as Executive Vice President of Oracle Health. Since her move, Oracle has secured massive expansions in federal healthcare contracts despite a 2024 VA Inspector General report linking Oracle’s systems to at least one veteran's death and a 2025 GAO survey finding that 58% of VA staff believe the system increases patient safety risks.  • Media Influence without Guardrails: Unlike the TikTok arrangement, which includes algorithm audits and data isolation gateways, no such governance framework has been proposed for the Paramount-WBD merger. This would give the Ellison family infrastructure-level control over CBS News, CNN, and Nickelodeon without any formal "firewall" to protect the private data of millions of Alabamians.  In light of these facts, I ask that you use your oversight authority to: 1. Demand a formal Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) review by the DOJ and FTC before the merger is allowed to close.  2. Require legally enforceable data firewalls as a condition of the merger to separate government healthcare/defense data from commercial media data.  3. Investigate the "Financial Loop" to ensure federal contracts are not being used as an indirect subsidy for private media acquisitions.  Alabama deserves to know that its citizens' most sensitive health and defense data is not being leveraged to consolidate control over the American media landscape. Thank you for your time and your service to our state.