BURNS TO EXAMINE WIRELESS ISSUES, INCLUDING SPECTRUM ALLOCATION
This year’s Commerce Committee communications picture became clearer Wed. in both houses of Congress. Senate Communications Subcommittee Chmn. Burns unveiled his technology agenda with emphasis on wireless and Internet issues. Counterpart House panel, whose Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.) has been explicit about his agenda for some time, finally passed its organizing resolutions appointing subcommittee members.
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Burns plans wide-ranging hearings on reforming wireless spectrum allocation policies, he announced at Wed. news conference. He said current policies were created in 1970s under assumption there would be just 900,000 wireless users by 2000, rather than actual 112 million. He said he would balance needs of industry against those of national defense, possibly creating panel composed of both camps to work out solution. Also on table is lifting spectrum ownership caps, Burns said. He said new FCC Chmn. Powell had pledged to work with him, and “we think the FCC should be involved.” Burns spokesman told us later than Burns was keeping his options open: “We're starting as close to a blank slate as you can with an issue of this magnitude.”
Burns spokesman said notion of panel would be to look at spectrum allocations and possible reforms. He said those issues would include NTIA and FCC exercise to examine need for additional spectrum for advanced wireless services, including 3G. “He doesn’t see the panel as the ultimate solution, but more as an advisory group,” spokesman said. CTIA spokesman said: “We've said from the beginning of this process that we'd like everybody to sit down at the table and walk away from this with a compromise solution in which all of us come out winners.”
As expected, Burns also promised to pursue bills to: (1) Lift cap on high-cost portion of Universal Service Fund. (2) Free telcos serving fewer than 2% of nation’s access lines from regulation. (3) Provide tax incentives for building broadband to underserved areas. He said he was “watching closely” dozen test low-power TV stations that have been allowed to use their spectrum for wireless Internet access. He said Subcommittee “maybe” would have hearings on DTV rollout. “We're in limbo for some of the smaller and rural stations,” he said, but “costs have started to ease a bit.” Burns predicted that “the marketplace will set the pace.”
Burns will continue what he believes is “middle-of-the-road approach” to privacy, he said. Spam also is returning item on his agenda, and spokesman told us later progress had been made since end of last session, when spam bill passed House and almost cleared Senate. Burns said he hoped to have hearing Feb. 27 on spamming problem and collaborate with Sen. Wyden (D-Ore.) on new bills on both topics. He said his attack on spamming and privacy problems would include examination of how those issues affected wireless phones and devices. In particular, he said he might address what kinds of information should be collected with global positioning systems.
Slow Start Expected in House
Finally, House Commerce Committee has all its members assigned. In addition to new members previously announced, Republicans added Rep. Bass (N.H.) and Democrats added Reps. Doyle (Pa.), Harman (Cal.) and John (La.). All 4 will sit on newly created Consumer Protection Subcommittee, other GOP members of which had been announced earlier. Democrats appointed Rep. Towns (N.Y.) as panel’s ranking minority member. Other Democrats on Subcommittee are Reps. DeGette (Colo.), Capps (Cal.), Waxman (Cal.), Markey (Mass.), Gordon (Tenn.), Deutsche (Fla.), Rush (Ill.), Eshoo (Cal.). Four new Democrats joined Telecom Subcommittee: Stupak (Mich.), DeGette, Harman and Brown (O.).
House Committee isn’t expected to take substantive action any time soon. “For the first month, we're going to be moving forward at a deliberate pace,” said Tauzin spokesman Ken Johnson. “We have a large group of new members who need to be brought up to speed.” In addition, Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Pa.) and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chmn. Stearns (R-Fla.) are new to many of issues they're overseeing and haven’t released any agendas. “What you'll see us do in the beginning is conduct quite a few oversight hearings” and try to move bills that have strong, bipartisan support, Johnson said.
“We have an immense agenda,” Tauzin said, and he hopes to mark up oversight plan for his subcommittees next week. In addition to topics such as privacy that he has addressed earlier, Tauzin told reporters he “can’t see how we can escape” taking look at copyright issues this year. He said he “continue[s] to hear from people in the video industry” as well as online companies on subject. Tauzin said he had talked with new Judiciary Committee Chmn. Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and they had “assured cooperation” with each other.
Tauzin has been promising Feb. 14 hearing on TV networks’ coverage of election for some time. He'll hold news conference today (Thurs.) to release results of his committee’s investigation so far and “why the hearing is still necessary,” he told reporters. He applauded CNN and Fox for “the reports they've already made” about their election calls and said “I hope other networks do the same.”