House Commerce Ranks Swell With New Republicans Ready for Telecom Rewrite

In the 114th Congress, beginning Tuesday, Republicans will have 31 members on House Commerce, an increase of one, and 18 on the Communications Subcommittee, up two. In the 113th Congress, Commerce included 30 GOP members and 24 Democrats, and the Communications Subcommittee contained 16 Republicans and 13 Democrats. The House will have 246 Republicans and 188 Democrats as the new Congress starts, with one seat vacant after the resignation of Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., following a tax scandal.

Five Republicans will join the Communications Subcommittee: Gus Bilirakis of Florida, Chris Collins of New York, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Bill Johnson of Ohio and Pete Olson of Texas. Commerce has seven new Republicans in total; the others not on the subcommittee include Susan Brooks and Larry Bucshon, both Indiana; Bill Flores, Texas; Rich Hudson, North Carolina; and Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma.

Five Democrats will join Commerce: Tony Cardenas of California; Yvette Clarke of New York; Joseph Kennedy of Massachusetts; David Loebsack of Iowa; and Kurt Schrader of Oregon.

There also are Commerce leadership shifts. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., its high-profile ranking member last Congress, retired after four decades in office. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., is now ranking member, having bested Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., for that spot. Republican leadership remains largely unchanged from the last Congress: Committee Chairman Fred Upton of Michigan; Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon; and Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta of Ohio. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, will chair Commerce’s Trade Subcommittee, given the November loss of previous chairman Lee Terry of Nebraska. Leonard Lance, R-N.J., will be subcommittee vice chairman.

Democrats haven't announced the ranking member or line-up of the Communications Subcommittee, which will have at least four departures. Waxman, John Dingell of Michigan and Jim Matheson of Utah retired, and Bruce Braley of Iowa left office for a Senate bid that he lost. Spokespeople for Pallone and Eshoo didn’t comment on any subcommittee changes. Commerce Democrats scheduled a 114th Congress organizational meeting for 10 a.m. Thursday in 2123 Rayburn.

Hungry for Telecom Overhaul

Commerce’s new members, both Republican and Democratic, are not freshmen lawmakers and often have delved into telecom and media policy.

Bilirakis sees overhauling outdated telecom law as “a top priority,” his spokesman told us Monday. “Chief among his concerns are the recent cybersecurity threats on American companies,” the spokesman said. “Consumer protection is paramount, and Congressman Bilirakis wants to make sure companies are better prepared to protect consumer data while ensuring that innovation in the technology sector remains a fertile ground for small businesses and job creation.” The spokesman noted Bilirakis also is on the Trade Subcommittee and, given the “overlap of jurisdiction, Congressman Bilirakis is well positioned to be champion of consumer protections.”

Collins, the New York GOP subcommittee member, told us in a statement that it’s “my priority that small businesses and individuals in rural areas are able to access broadband, which provides a gateway to achieve economic growth and job creation.” The government “overestimates how broadly that service is offered,” a Collins news release said, and Collins wants to “correct that problem.” He's also interested in telemedicine access, he said. The Communications Act overhaul should not disadvantage rural areas, Collins said.

Johnson, the Ohio Republican, is looking “forward to putting my 30 years of IT experience to work on the many important policies the committee will be undertaking -- starting with the modernization of the outdated Communications Act,” he told us in a statement. “The way we Americans communicate today is fundamentally different than the way we did in the ‘90’s, and policy must reflect this. I’ll also be focused on connectivity challenges in rural areas like those I serve in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio, as well as how the government can ensure that spectrum is used as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

Olson sees tech issues as "critically important" to his Houston district, his spokeswoman emailed, pledging the lawmaker's interest "to ensure we have a communications law that works in the 21st Century and protects the privacy of individuals." Olson will be vice chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee, which has overlapping issues related to grid security, and a member of the Trade Subcommittee, which will deal with key data security issues, she said.

The subcommittee has “the opportunity to bring the Telecommunications Act into the 21st century by addressing issues including broadband deployment and Universal Service Fund reform, while looking out for rural telephone cooperatives and their customers,” Cramer, the North Dakota Republican, said in a statement. “I intend to put my experience regulating telecommunications as a North Dakota Public Service Commissioner to use.”

Brooks has particular telecom expertise, despite not landing on the Communications Subcommittee. In the last Congress she chaired the Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee, where she delved into issues of cybersecurity and the progress of FirstNet. She's honorary co-chair of the Women’s High-Tech Coalition, with board members from companies including Google, IBM, Oracle and Qualcomm.

Democrats Also Experienced

Commerce’s five new Democrats also aren't strangers to telecom, and one sided with Republicans in the past on the partisan issue of net neutrality.

Cardenas, who assumed office in 2013, plans to take advantage of Commerce’s broad jurisdiction “to talk to dozens of experts and industry representatives about the issues that are so important to Hollywood and the Los Angeles region,” his spokesman said. “Part of that will be the laser focus he has shown on issues of diverse voices and opportunities in the entertainment marketplace, as well as in programming that not only reflects the makeup of our country, but also takes into account the tremendous impact on our economy that is made by diverse audiences.”

Cardenas has built up a high telecom profile, speaking directly with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler about a controversial TV blackout fight this summer and repeatedly scrutinizing Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable. The first legislation he passed was a cyber provision in last month’s National Defense Authorization Act, compelling a GAO report on Defense Department cybertraining for small businesses contracting with the Pentagon.

Clarke, a new Commerce Democrat, was ranking member of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity Subcommittee and a member of Brooks’ Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee. Loebsack wrote to the FCC in 2012 worried about its USF overhaul order and requesting clarification.

Schrader was one of a handful of Democrats to join Republicans in 2011 in a controversial Congressional Review Act vote to attempt to kill FCC 2010 net neutrality rules. He devotes a website section now to net neutrality, saying he supports protections and the FCC’s right to investigate and act but also has told the agency he worries about “an overly burdensome regulatory regime” on this front. “I do not support any attempt to stifle communication of information or access to legal websites and content by an internet service provider,” he wrote.