Continued uncertainty about the prospects for Senate confirmation of Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and its implications for ushering in a 3-2 Democratic majority are unlikely to be a major factor at a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing on the agency, lawmakers and other observers told us. Subpanel members instead plan to focus on the FCC’s successes since the beginning of 2021 and telecom policy items that lawmakers believe they can reach a bipartisan consensus on before the coming midterm election campaign. The partly virtual hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
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 appeared highly likely Tuesday to vote this week on discharging Democratic FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya from the Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction, lawmakers and aides told us. The chamber may also do a discharge vote this week on FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, but that’s less likely since leadership is prioritizing action on Bedoya over her, officials said. Senate leaders previously eyed initial votes on Bedoya and Sohn last week (see 2203220058) but scuttled that plan when it was clear all 50 chamber Democrats wouldn’t be present to ensure their advancement.
The FCC and most other tech and telecom-focused federal agencies would get a funding increase in FY 2023 under a budget proposal President Joe Biden released Monday. Five entities -- the DOJ Antitrust Division, Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), NTIA, FTC and National Institute of Standards and Technology -- would get double-digit percentage increases compared with FY 2022. Biden signed off earlier this month on the FY22 omnibus appropriations package, which itself increased funding for the FCC, FTC and other agencies (see 2203150076).
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson continued telling lawmakers there are opportunities for judges to reinterpret existing laws to reflect emerging technologies, during her Wednesday confirmation hearing, but said she believes Congress can make it “far easier for judges who are doing their duties to interpret the law” by updating statutes to reflect “modern innovations.” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., echoed Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and other Democrats in urging Jackson to be cognizant of those technologies as she interprets laws (see 2203230066). Tech and telecom issues didn’t come up during Senate Judiciary’s Thursday hearing on Jackson, which featured witnesses giving outside opinions on Jackson.
Senate Judiciary Committee members pressed Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson Tuesday and Wednesday on how the top court should interpret First Amendment, privacy and child porn statutes to reflect cases involving social media and other technologies. Jackson said during Senate Judiciary’s Tuesday confirmation hearing Congress generally can’t institute government regulation “along viewpoint lines,” calling into question proposals to condition Communications Decency Act Section 230 immunity on online public forums not discriminating against certain viewpoints (see 2203220064).
It remained unclear Tuesday afternoon if Senate leaders would move to hold initial votes later this week on Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya, amid uncertainties about whether all 50 Democratic caucus members will be available to appear on the floor. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., told us earlier in the day that chamber Democratic leaders were eyeing floor votes this week to discharge Bedoya and Sohn from the committee’s jurisdiction (see 2203220034). Senate Commerce voted 14-14 earlier this month on Bedoya and Sohn, meaning the full chamber would need to vote to discharge both nominees before lawmakers could act on their confirmations (see 2203030070).
Backers of the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act (S-1541) believe changes to the measure the Senate Commerce Committee approved Tuesday greatly strengthened its prospects of passing Congress this year. S-1541 and the similar Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act (HR-2489) would bar communications providers from receiving site commissions from prisons and other confinement facilities (see 2104160067). Senate Commerce advanced the amended S-1541 and two other measures -- the Next Generation Telecommunications Act (S-3014) and Low Power Protection Act (S-3405) -- on voice votes.
Senate Democratic leaders are actively eyeing whether enough of its caucus will be in town to potentially conduct initial votes later this week on FCC nominee Gigi Sohn or FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya, Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., told us in interviews Tuesday. Senate Commerce voted 14-14 earlier this month on Bedoya and Sohn, meaning the full chamber would need to hold votes to discharge both nominees from committee jurisdiction before lawmakers could move forward on their confirmations.
House Communications Subcommittee members are continuing to wrestle with whether and how to package legislation to reauthorize the FCC’s spectrum auction authority with other related policy matters. Witnesses at a Wednesday hearing on those issues urged Congress to quickly renew the FCC’s sales authority and cited a range of other matters lawmakers should simultaneously consider, including directing proceeds to pay for other telecom projects and addressing interagency disputes on frequency allocations (see 2203150069).
Witnesses scheduled for a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on 5G and spectrum management issues (see 2203090074) urged lawmakers in written testimony to prioritize reauthorizing the FCC’s spectrum auction authority. Witnesses also cite interest in legislation to direct proceeds to pay for other telecom projects and address interagency disputes on frequency allocations. Congress last extended the FCC’s auction authority via the 2012 spectrum law. That authorization will expire Sept. 30. The partly virtual hearing is to begin at 10:30 a.m. in 213 Rayburn.