The White House warned Congress again Mon. that it would veto leg...

Commerce Justice State (CJS) appropriations bill (S-1585) that would roll the broadcast ownership cap back to 35% from 45%. Although floor debate on S-1585 had been set for Mon. (CD Nov 10 p1), Minority Whip Reid (D-Nev.) delayed proceedings by speaking for hours on unemployment and other issues. The White House in the past has warned that it might veto legislation that changed the media ownership rules. And as it has in the past, the SAP used the “adviser veto theat” by warning that the President’s advisers would recommend that he veto the bill. The White House also urged the Senate to remove the “Northpoint amendment” and restore funding for the FCC’s auction program. The amendment would allow Multivideo Distribution & Data Services (MVDDS) companies -- such as Northpoint Technology - - to have access to the 12.2-12.7 GHz band without going through auction. The SAP said that one company, presumably Northpoint, would receive an “undeserved windfall” that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would be $100 million. It said the Northpoint amendment would deprive other companies that intended to compete in the Jan. auction for access to that spectrum. “Auction-based spectrum policy has been a mainstay of wireless services for a decade,” the SAP said. “Interfering with the efficient allocation of federal spectrum licenses by directing the award of licenses to a particular company would undermine the federal auction system and establish a damaging precedent.” Northpoint has said congressional reports showed that the value of the spectrum could be as low as $60 million. It has argued that auction of the spectrum is inconsistent since satellite companies have received spectrum without going through auction. The SAP also urged that funding for the Commerce Dept.’s Technology Administration be restored. By our deadline, there had been no debate on any CJS issues. It was unclear if or when the CJS bill would be debated. The Senate was scheduled to debate the Veterans Administration-Housing & Urban Development (VA-HUD) bill Tues., although sources said there could be some discussion of CJS as well. Senate Democrats have said they were upset about a 30-hour debate on judicial nominations, which sources suggested was why Reid delayed consideration of CJS.