Not All House Communications Subcommittee Republicans Decided on D-Block
Public safety may be in striking distance of winning the 700 MHz D-block in the House Communications Subcommittee, after the subcommittee looked likely to say no. Communications Subcommitee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said Friday she expected Democrats would file an amendment to reallocate the D-block to public safety (CD Oct 17 p6). If all 12 of the subcommittee’s Democrats support reallocation, as some expect, public safety would only need three of 16 Republicans votes to have the amendment adopted. Some subcommittee Republicans said Monday that they are undecided on D-block. And the Public Safety Alliance is “feeling confident” it will have Republican votes, said spokesman Sean Kirkendall.
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While Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., wants to auction the D-block to public safety, not all of his Republican colleagues on the subcommittee are decided. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., “is reviewing the issue carefully with stakeholders and Chairman Walden and has not yet taken a formal position,” a Rogers spokesman said. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., is undecided but leaning toward a commercial auction, a Bilbray spokesman said Monday. Rep. Charlie Bass, R-N.H., may also be undecided, two telecom industry lobbyists said. A Bass spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond.
Public safety still has its work cut out. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., supports the auction approach, his spokesman said Monday. Other subcommittee Republicans we asked didn’t immediately respond. But full committee chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., have supported Walden in seeking an auction.
The subcommittee may have held off on their markup, which had been tentatively planned for two weeks ago, in part because Walden lacked votes for the commercial auction, Kirkendall said. Eshoo said Friday that Democrats and Republicans had “agreed to disagree” on D-block and would use the markup to settle the issue. Public safety has been lobbying House Commerce Committee members, and some committee Republicans who have not previously taken a position have signaled that they are open to reallocating the D-block, Kirkendall said. The Alliance hasn’t received any commitments from the Republicans, however, he said. The group believes it has the votes of all of the committee Democrats, he said.
House Commerce Committee Republicans appear to be the last ones left in Congress supporting a commercial D-block auction. The committee’s Democrats, as well as both political parties’ leaders in the Senate Commerce Committee and House and Senate Homeland Security committees supported reallocation in letters last week to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. The super committee is expected to address spectrum in its recommendations due Nov. 23. Walden has said he hopes to move spectrum legislation by year end.
The committee majority asserted authority over the D-block Monday, following a Homeland Security markup last week that pinned D-block reallocation to its Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act (CD Oct 17 p10). “Energy and Commerce has jurisdiction over spectrum policy, and our members are continuing to make bipartisan progress,” a Commerce Committee spokeswoman said. “The Homeland Security Committee’s markup has no legislative consequences in this area, but we appreciate their continued interest."
Unlicensed spectrum and specifically the TV White Spaces may be another continuing point of contention in the subcommittee’s bipartisan spectrum negotiations, Hill and industry officials said. Eshoo and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., have been major proponents of making unlicensed spectrum available. “Unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi and white spaces is … something that should be on the table,” a Matsui spokeswoman said.