Satellite, Broadband, DTV Top Telecom Agenda This Congress

Satellite reauthorization must be coordinated with the Judiciary committees, which oversee copyright matters. The legislation needs a plan for rules on importing distant signals and signals from adjacent markets that straddle state lines. Another issue that Congress wants dealt with is whether all 210 markets should have local-into-local satellite service. Broadcasters want that, but satellite providers are opposed. “I would say at the moment there is no agreement” on those issues, said House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va.

Universal service will be the subject of hearings in both chambers, committee aides said. “I expect Congress can pass a bill, and I think that is what you need to do,” Boucher said. The new broadband programs included in the stimulus bill heighten the importance of dealing with the USF, which all agree needs to be updated to reflect current technology. Cost controls are needed because the program has become more expensive for consumers. And most think it’s time to include broadband among the services covered.

Boucher waded into the issue with a hearing last week (CD March 13 p1). He has promised to introduce legislation soon, based on comments by stakeholders and members and drawing from legislation he and Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., worked on for several years. Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., made clear at the hearing he intends to steer USF legislative efforts. Separately, he plans a bill, based on legislation from the last Congress, requiring carriers that receive subsidies to provide roaming rights.

Universal service has long been a concern for Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. “He’s going to have a big hand in that,” an industry lobbyist predicted. “It’s something he deeply cares about.” Crafting USF legislation will require juggling corporate interests, since carriers that benefit from the program will resist changes. Efforts to pull in new contributors by moving toward a collection system based on phone numbers rather than revenue may not be popular, either.

“Rockefeller has always made it clear that he’s never afraid of big business,” said another industry lobbyist. The chairman understands business, and seeks to work as a partner rather than “overregulator” -- but will do what he considers right regardless of how unhappy it may make someone, the lobbyist said.

Other industry lobbyists expressed similar views. Rockefeller is known for his ability to gain consensus among a variety of players, often with opposing views, and he doesn’t like to mark up legislation unless he has a solid majority of votes. This was true with last year’s complex legislation dealing with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Rockefeller carried it through the Intelligence Committee, reporting out a bill on a measure that gave retroactive immunity to any phone companies involved in the Bush administration’s terrorist surveillance program. “He will work hard to get as many votes as possible before bringing something to the floor,” a lobbyist said.

Under Rockefeller, the committee probably will be politically “centrist,” the lobbyist said. Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico, Mark Warner of Virginia and Mark Begich of Alaska are considered pragmatic politicians in the Rockefeller mold, the person said. Rockefeller is expected to work well with Ranking Member Kay Hutchison of Texas. He has a good working relationship with Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, next in line for GOP leadership on the committee.

Rockefeller will be “fair,” said an industry lobbyist. “He will listen to arguments on both sides. I think he will be really good to work with.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., “likes Rockefeller,” a different lobbyist said, because he brings to the floor bills “that are cooked.” Reid can count on Rockefeller to have done his homework on vote counts. But the lobbyist predicted USF legislation will be “tough to do … unless you make every rural senator happy.” If the House sends the Senate a bill that everyone supports, though, “it will be an easy lift,” this person said. But Rockefeller may decide to wait and see what the FCC accomplishes under Julius Genachowski, nominated to become the chairman.

Rockefeller’s decision to revive a communications subcommittee prompted some to question what it will do. Its chairman, Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry, has a full plate with his duties as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. But Kerry has a longstanding interest in broadband issues and likely will get involved in oversight of the new grant programs, committee sources said. No specific agenda has been set. There was tremendous interest among all Commerce Committee members in joining the subcommittee. As a result, every full committee members except Sen. Barbara Boxer, D- Calif., is on the subcommittee.

Kerry and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., subcommittee ranking members, have different ideologies but a good working relationship, two industry lobbyists said. One lobbyist said he was a “little surprised” Rockefeller reconvened the subcommittee but speculated it would be a way to handle some hearings and screen issues before they get to the full committee.

Waxman is a consensus-builder too, several lobbyists said, and he has the benefit of an especially close relationship with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. So any bill that he moves out of Commerce stands a good chance of getting floor attention. Waxman has an experienced telecom staff (CD March 19 p5) that works well together, a lobbyist said, adding that he is the kind of chairman who keeps close contact with subcommittee heads about their legislative priorities.

“Boucher will be solid” on the Communications Subcommittee, said an industry lobbyist. “The industry will be more happy with him than Markey,” the Massachusetts Democrat who previously chaired the subcommittee. Waxman is “much more liberal, more regulatory” mind than Boucher, this person said.

Ensuring a smooth DTV transition is an immediate priority for both committees, which plan oversight hearings. Also on the agenda is a national framework for wireless consumer protection issues, a goal Rockefeller put on the map last year with legislation that he and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D- Minn., introduced. Boucher also has it on his list of priorities for the subcommittee to tackle down the road. It joins privacy protection and cybersecurity on the agenda. -- Anne Veigle

(Editor’s Note: This is part of a series on the 111th Congress.)