National Institute of Standards and Technology director nominee Laurie Locascio repeatedly emphasized the agency's role in maintaining U.S. competitiveness in communications and other emerging technologies against China and other adversaries during a Wednesday hearing, in part citing the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act. Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and other members pressed her on a range of tech-related issues, but she faced limited fire amid a focus on other nominees.
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
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Tuesday she believes the White House may be moving on long-delayed nominations for two Democratic FCC seats. “Some names may be coming up” to the Senate from President Joe Biden as soon as this week, she said, citing information her office received in recent days. “I don’t think” acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is out of the running to be permanent chair despite recent reports to the contrary, Cantwell said. She cautioned that she hasn’t received definitive word on nominees. Recent media coverage of the potential for the FCC to shift to a 2-1 Republican majority in January if Rosenworcel has to depart (see 2110080046) and related pressure from Democratic lawmakers “has gotten people to act,” Cantwell said. Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., told us he hadn’t heard anything about progress on FCC nominations but would welcome it because “we’ve all been waiting around to see what they’re going to do.” Any FCC nominations that do happen are likely to be paired with Biden's expected pick of Mozilla Foundation Senior Adviser Alan Davidson for NTIA administrator, lobbyists said. The White House didn’t comment.
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., said Monday he won’t seek re-election in 2022. “The time has come to pass the torch to the next generation,” he said during a news conference in Pittsburgh. Doyle cited the likelihood that Pennsylvania’s redistricting plans “will change this district and most likely push part of it outside Allegheny County,” which makes it “a good transition time for a new member to start in a newly drawn district.” Doyle has been House Communications’ lead Democrat since 2017 and became chairman when Democrats gained a majority in the chamber after the 2018 election (see 1901150056). He spearheaded House Democrats’ years long legislative push to undo FCC rescission of 2015 net neutrality rules (see 2103300001) and advocated for major broadband money to be included in infrastructure legislation. He recently filed the Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-5378) to authorize an FCC auction of at least 200 MHz on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band (see 2109290071). Doyle’s announcement immediately prompted speculation about potential contenders to succeed him as lead Communications Democrat. Congressional Spectrum Caucus co-Chair Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., is known to be seeking to succeed Doyle, Capitol Hill aides and Democratic-focused lobbyists told us. Matsui’s office didn’t comment.
Congressional leaders and telecom policy observers signaled Thursday they expect major cuts to a budget reconciliation package that Democrats have aimed to include connectivity money. Some believe any move to reduce the scope from the $3.5 trillion congressional Democrats envisioned in August could endanger proposed money for the FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund and next-generation 911 (see 2110010001).
Republicans are unlikely at this point to actively aid or diminish the chances of a possible 2-1 GOP-dominated FCC (see 2110080046), with acting Chairman Geoffrey Starks at the helm, come January, Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., said in an interview. Such a scenario appears to be a growing possibility given the evenly divided Senate and a White House that hasn’t nominated anyone to the FCC almost nine months into Joe Biden's presidency. Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s term expired in June 2020, meaning she would have to leave Jan. 3 absent Senate reconfirmation.
A Thursday Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing showed there is bipartisan support for a “strong telehealth initiative” that the Commerce and Health committees could together advance to the Senate floor this year, said subpanel Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., in an interview. Lawmakers noted interest in advancing the Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment Act (HR-708/S-168) and Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act (HR-2903/S-1512), among other telehealth measures. Lujan and others also used the hearing as a venue to promote the need for further broadband money and air grievances about President Joe Biden’s delay in announcing nominees to the FCC and NTIA.
House Communications Subcommittee Republicans used a Wednesday hearing ostensibly aimed at highlighting bipartisan cooperation on a dozen communications bills to criticize subpanel Democrats’ legislative and oversight process. Democrats appeared interested in moving at least some of the dozen bills before year's end, including the Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-5378). Republicans’ targets for criticism, as expected (see 2110050072), included the Senate-passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684) and a pending reconciliation package, both in legislative limbo.
Witnesses praise a dozen communications-focused bills set to be the focus of a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing, in written testimony. The subpanel intends the dozen bills, including the Spectrum Coordination Act (HR-2501) and Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-5378), to highlight bipartisan cooperation on the House Commerce Committee, lobbyists said. At least one witness backs the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684) and parts of the Democratic-sought budget reconciliation package, which could inject talk of the fracas over the timeline for considering those measures into the hearing, lobbyists said.
Telecom-focused Democrats told us they hope to limit any cuts to proposed next-generation 911 and broadband money in a final version of a budget reconciliation package and believe much depends on what negotiators decide on as an overall top-line. Legislators and lobbyists see the $10 billion for NG-911 and $4 billion for the FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund in the House Commerce Committee’s section of the Build Back Better Act reconciliation measure (see 2109140063) as the ceiling for telecom money rather than the floor.
The FCC could remain fully open “through Oct. 11” in the event of a now-unlikely government shutdown, acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters Thursday. See our news bulletin here. President Joe Biden was expected to have signed a continuing resolution later that day to fund the federal government through Dec. 3 (HR-5305), averting a shutdown of agencies that would otherwise begin at midnight. Prospects for a planned Thursday House vote on the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684) were in doubt amid opposition from progressives in the Democratic caucus to affirming the Senate-passed measure without first voting on a budget reconciliation package that's still under negotiation.