The Senate's 55-43 confirmation Thursday of Democrat Anna Gomez to the FCC (see 2309070052) will soon end the 2-2 partisan tie at the commission that has lasted more than two years into President Joe Biden's term. Agency watchers and former insiders expect a flurry of activity, with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel issuing and launching long-bottled-up orders and proceedings once Gomez formally becomes a commissioner.
Jimm Phillips
Jimm Phillips, Associate Editor, covers telecommunications policymaking in Congress for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications News in 2012 after stints at the Washington Post and the American Independent News Network. Phillips is a Maryland native who graduated from American University. You can follow him on Twitter: @JLPhillipsDC
The Senate voted 55-43 Thursday to confirm Anna Gomez to the FCC, paving the way for the commission to soon shift to a Democratic majority for the first time since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. The commission has been in a 2-2 partisan tie throughout that period. The chamber invoked cloture on Gomez by the same margin earlier in the afternoon.
The Senate voted 55-43 Thursday to invoke cloture on FCC nominee Anna Gomez, clearing procedural hurdle that puts the commission on the precipice of shifting to a Democratic majority for the first time since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. The commission has been in a 2-2 partisan tie throughout that period. Lobbyists expect the same or a near-identical result when the Senate votes on confirming Gomez. That vote is set to begin at 1:45 p.m. Eastern.
Senate confirmation of Democratic FCC nominee Anna Gomez is likelier than not to stretch into next week, with the chamber on track to vote on invoking cloture on her Thursday, said Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and other officials in interviews. The Senate's Wednesday schedule didn't include a cloture vote on Gomez that some lobbyists previously thought possible (see 2309050084), though some suggested it could still happen that night.
There's a strong possibility Senate leaders will set a vote to invoke cloture on Democratic FCC nominee Anna Gomez for Wednesday, several communications policy lobbyists told us Tuesday. Those lobbyists and others cautioned that a cloture vote could still happen Thursday instead, an outcome that appeared the likeliest outcome last week. A Thursday cloture vote would mean a final confirmation vote on Gomez would not happen until next week, while holding it Wednesday cloture vote would set the Senate up to approve her earlier. The chamber was expected to vote Tuesday night on President Joe Biden’s nomination of Federal Reserve Board member Philip Jefferson to be the body’s vice chairman, one of a few high-profile administration nominees along with Gomez that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., filed cloture on before the August recess (see 2307280074).
Three telecom policy stakeholder groups urged Senate Communications Subcommittee leaders Friday to include stronger accountability rules in USF revamp legislation but diverged on some other goals. The entities were responding to a late July feedback request from Communications Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., and other USF working group members for feedback on the path forward on legislation (see 2305110066). FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, meanwhile, is pushing back against criticisms from House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, of the agency's Learning Without Limits proposal to allow E-rate program money to pay for Wi-Fi on school buses and for hot spots (see 2307310063).
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 5-0 Thursday to move forward on an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANOPR) on amending state USF rules. The PUC during a livestreamed meeting approved a bid by Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille to seek comment on what she said are “broad questions about the challenges of supporting voice and internet networks and services” as part of the ANOPR. The PUC postponed considering the rulemaking proposal in early August (see 2308020057). Comments on the ANOPR in docket L-2023-3040646 are due 90 days after its publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, with replies due within 120 days.
Anti-5G group Americans for Responsible Technology is trying to organize formal opposition to the House Commerce Committee-cleared American Broadband Deployment Act (HR-3557) and other bills promoted as streamlining regulatory reviews of connectivity projects, ahead of what the group believes will be an attempt to fast-track the measures after Congress returns from the August recess after Labor Day. House Commerce advanced HR-3557, a package of GOP-led connectivity permitting revamp measures, on a party-line 27-23 vote in May, with all Democrats opposed (see 2305240069). Wired Broadband President Odette Wilkens and three lawyers rallied ART supporters against HR-3557 and other measures during a Wednesday webcast.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., declared themselves at odds Monday with the FCC’s decision to delay awarding the spectrum licenses T-Mobile bought last year in the commission’s 2.5 GHz auction while its sales authority remains lapsed (see 2303220077). The senators’ opposition highlights a growing view among Republicans that the FCC is delaying action on the T-Mobile licenses to spur on slow-moving congressional talks on a spectrum legislative package that would restore the commission’s auction authority (see 2308070001), Senate aides and others told us.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., pressed the FCC Monday to reconsider its decision to hold off on awarding T-Mobile more than 7,000 spectrum licenses it bought last year in the commission’s 2.5 GHz auction while its sales authority remains lapsed. “The FCC appears to be holding onto T-Mobile’s $304 million payment while providing nothing in return,” the GOP leaders said in a letter to Jessica Rosenworcel we obtained first ahead of its release. “If it had been a private company that accepted payment and then refused delivery of goods or services, a customer would be well within its rights to sue for breach of contract. This circumstance is similar, but it is perhaps even more egregiously unfair given the power dynamics: a government regulator is withholding a legitimately obtained good from a regulated entity.”