Contention Expected for Lifeline Cap Bill, Kelsey Smith Act

The seven bills under consideration at the hearing are the Controlling the Unchecked and Reckless Ballooning of the Lifeline Fund Act (HR-4884), the Rural Health Care Connectivity Act (HR-4111), Kari’s Law Act (HR-4167), the Kelsey Smith Act (HR-4889), the Anti-Swatting Act (HR-2031), the Securing Access to Networks in Disasters Act (HR-3998) and the Spectrum Challenge Prize bill (HR-4190). The Lifeline cap bill was already seen as a "message bill" doomed to go nowhere (see 1604040052).

“A cap on the Lifeline program will inherently exclude an undetermined number of the eligible low-income consumers,” CTIA Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann will testify. “Because the Lifeline program provides support only to means-tested recipients and serves a purpose more akin to other low-income government programs that are not subject to caps, it is reasonable to distinguish Lifeline from other Federal USF programs that are appropriately subject to a cap.” CTIA “recommends eliminating the proposed 254A(a) and 254A(c) provisions and the corresponding provisions of Section 2(b) from the bill,” he will say.

The Lifeline bill “would impose a host of new restrictions on the program,” the Democratic staff memo said. “Most notably, the bill sets a hard statutory cap on the program of $1.5 billion, which does not allow adjustment for inflation. The bill also phases out all support for standalone mobile voice service in two years, and specifies that Lifeline support could not be used to subsidize the sale, lease, or other provision of a mobile telephone through the program.”

Katie McAuliffe, federal affairs manager for the Americans for Tax Reform, is the one witness who will back the Lifeline bill. “All other preferences aside, Americans for Tax Reform strongly supports a budget cap on the Lifeline fund, especially in the current environment,” she will testify, defending the bill’s number as an “ample” budget. The cap would also help “prevent government waste of dollars that should be directed toward helping those in need,” she will say.

CTIA will question the need for the Securing Access to Networks in Disasters Act (HR-3998), an emergency communications bill from Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J. “Carriers are making progress toward a framework that will address many of the elements included in H.R. 3998, including making sure public safety answering points and critical public safety personnel can contact wireless providers about service and restoration status; engaging with local governments to enhance municipal preparedness; and providing flexibility for wireless providers to assist one another through roaming or mutual aid where feasible,” Bergmann will say. “Given this progress, we do not consider new legislative or regulatory actions necessary, but we absolutely thank and commend Representative Pallone for his leadership in this area, through which he is fostering enhanced industry practices that will benefit all Americans.” CTIA backs the Spectrum Challenge Prize Act, he will say.

Nathan Wessler, ACLU staff attorney, will question the protections in the Kelsey Smith Act. “Although the impetus behind this legislation is commendable, as currently drafted the bill raises a number of concerns,” Wessler will testify. He will tally the corrections the ACLU feels are necessary: “Make emergency disclosure of location information by service providers voluntary rather than mandatory, in order to protect against disclosure when there is no genuine emergency, or when criminals seek location records by impersonating law enforcement officials. Require after-the-fact judicial review and prompt notice to the person whose location information was obtained. Require judicially enforceable remedies when location information is acquired in violation of the law. Raise the legal standard governing access to location information in an emergency from ‘reasonable belief’ to ‘probable cause’ in order to avoid disclosure of sensitive location information in the absence of a genuine emergency.”

The Democratic staff memo noted the protections left out of the version of the Kelsey Smith Act introduced this Congress. It’s “a step back from the bipartisan agreement reached in the last Congress,” the memo said.

CTIA will urge a change to the Kelsey Smith Act. “The addition we urge is the inclusion of clear, unambiguous language to ensure that any carrier complying with the Act is protected from civil or administrative liability,” Bergmann will argue. “CTIA urges the Subcommittee to adopt language identical to that which was included in the version of the Kelsey Smith Act reported by the Energy & Commerce Committee during the 113th Congress.”

Melissa Smith, treasurer for the Kelsey Smith Foundation, will defend the measure. “The Act only allows law enforcement to access the location of a wireless device,” she will say of privacy protections. “It does not allow the search of the device’s contents -- phone call history, actual phone calls, text messages, pictures, or any other content on the device.”

Other witnesses will laud other measures on deck. Kari’s Law “has bipartisan support and would be an important step in addressing this problem by requiring that all new MLTS [multiline telephone systems] be configured by default to directly dial 9-1-1 without requiring any additional digit, code, or prefix,” Steve Souder, director of the Fairfax County, Virginia, 911 call center, will testify. “This would be a substantial improvement for 9-1-1 calls from MLTS, and it’s also an opportunity to address important issues such as the delivery of accurate location information.”

Meanwhile, Good Samaritan Society Director-Government Relations Dan Holdhusen will laud the Rural Health Care Connectivity Act. He plans to say the bill “would provide the necessary telecommunications and information services to serve persons who reside in rural areas at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates charged for similar services in urban areas.” B.A. Finley, a detective sergeant with Georgia’s Johns Creek Police Department, will testify that legislation is necessary to deal with swatting. “The American people are going to look to both of us for help,” he will say. “They’ll look to people like you to make the laws and to people like me to enforce them.”