Telecom industry officials and FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai cheered the 241-173 House approval of the No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act (HR-2666) Friday. But the bill’s fate is uncertain and likely limited, based on past statements from senators and last week’s veto threat from the White House. The bill was unaltered from the Commerce Committee markup version that left Democrats frustrated and unanimously opposed.
The House Communications Subcommittee will now take up seven bills rather than four at its previously announced April 13 legislative hearing (see 1604050068). The three bills added to the agenda are the Anti-Swatting Act (HR-2031) from Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.; the Securing Access to Networks in Disasters Act (HR-3998), from Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J.; and the Spectrum Challenge Prize bill (HR-4190), from Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif.
Offices of House Commerce Committee lawmakers showcase a partisan divide over whether to cap the budget of the Lifeline program ahead of the committee’s plans to take up legislation to do just that. GOP staff said Thursday that the Controlling the Unchecked and Reckless Ballooning of Lifeline Act (HR-4884) from Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., is on deck for Commerce Committee action in April, with a Communications Subcommittee hearing under preparation (see 1603310060). A GOP committee aide confirmed Monday that House Commerce plans to move the bill through regular order. Democrats are seen as unlikely to back the effort.
States may sue the FCC over the commission’s Lifeline order, pending a review of the text of the final order, NARUC President Travis Kavulla said in an interview on Friday. At its Thursday meeting, the FCC approved by a 3-2 vote an order that would extend USF low-income subsidies to broadband (see 1603310056). While states support a broadband expansion, they have disagreed with the FCC’s decision to shift potential responsibility for verifying Lifeline broadband provider eligibility from the states to a national third party, sharply condemning the proposal in a March 17 letter ultimately signed by 96 state commissioners (see 1603180052). Before the FCC vote, the National Governors Association and NASUCA voiced concerns about where the order leaves states. Capitol Hill Democrats were revealed to be heavily involved in lobbying the agency hours before the vote. After the vote, rural telco/RLEC groups NTCA and WTA also voiced concerns about the Lifeline order.
House Commerce Committee Republicans advanced the No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act (HR-2666) Tuesday on a 29-19 partisan basis, with Democrats lamenting a broken and messy negotiation process. The dissent was expected (see 1603140069) and hounded the legislation since Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., took it up early this year. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., introduced the bill last year to prevent the FCC from regulating broadband rates after its net neutrality order.
Amid negotiation struggles over HR-2666, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., plans to file an amendment to try to resolve some of the subcommittee Democratic concerns, and Democrats are planning to file their own amendments to counter the bill. That is one of two House measures on the FCC net neutrality order poised to advance this week. Commerce Committee lawmakers delivered opening statements Monday for a full committee markup of what has been the partisan No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act (HR-2666), with a vote set for Tuesday at 10 a.m. The full chamber is geared up for what is likely a Wednesday House vote on the bipartisan Small Business Broadband Deployment Act (HR-4596).
Congressional Spectrum Caucus co-chairs want NTIA and the FCC to help unlock spectrum in the 1675-1680 MHz band, they told NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a letter dated Wednesday. “We understand there are applications before the Commission requesting that the FCC move forward in reallocating and auctioning the 1675-1680 MHz band on a shared basis with [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] while protecting NOAA operations,” said the lawmakers, saying they “strongly encourage the Commission and NTIA to move forward expeditiously to commercialize the 1675-1680 MHz band of spectrum.” Co-chairs Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Doris Matsui, D-Calif., led the letter, also signed by 15 other House members. The White House FY 2017 budget request mentioned commercializing this spectrum (see 1602090067). “While I appreciate the progress already made by the FCC and NTIA to make more federal spectrum available, I am hopeful that they will prioritize opening up the 1675-1680 MHz band, especially given the widespread support that exists for this project,” Guthrie said. Matsui agreed: “The 1675-1680 MHz spectrum band is a prime example of an opportunity that can benefit our American wireless economy while allowing federal agencies to continue their critical mission.”
The House Communications Subcommittee advanced the bipartisan Amateur Radio Parity Act (HR-1301) without controversy but debated fiercely over the No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act (HR-2666) and a draft of the Small Business Broadband Deployment Act. Bipartisan compromise negotiation collapsed, lawmakers lamented Thursday at the markup. Republicans advanced the two net neutrality measures without changes in partisan votes and defeated all Democratic amendments to modify them.
Net neutrality dominated the House Communications Subcommittee hearing on four legislative measures Tuesday. Some members wondered about revising bills to achieve bipartisan consensus, but they largely showcased partisan divide in how they interpreted possible burdens from the FCC's order. The two heavily debated measures were the No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act (HR-2666) and a discussion draft of the Small Business Broadband Deployment Act, which would codify the temporary exemption small businesses have from the order's enhanced transparency requirements.
Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., introduced legislation Tuesday to create a $5 million prize for those who address spectrum efficiency challenges, they said in a joint news release. “The Spectrum Challenge Prize Act creates a new opportunity for the federal government and the private sector to work collaboratively in the pursuit of a spectrum breakthrough, which is ultimately a victory for our 21st century economy,” said Matsui, co-chair of the Congressional Spectrum Caucus. NTIA would have to award the money in consultation with other agencies. Matsui posted the four-page bill text. The legislation would require NTIA to work with the private sector or other government agencies in designing the competition. “Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the [FCC] shall publish a technical paper on spectrum efficiency providing criteria that may be used for the design of the prize competitions,” the bill said.