Senate Needs To 'Address Specific Programs' Through Appropriations, Fischer Says

“If we went through an appropriations process in regular order, we’d be able to have those discussions,” said Fischer, a member of the Commerce Committee, in a speech at an event hosted by the Hudson Institute. “I am pushing, as [Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,] is being very forceful on that, that we need to take up appropriations bills. That’s my job as United States senator.” There’s a need “to address specific programs” through that and “to address some of these concerns that people have with duplication throughout our government,” she said.

The appropriations process, which Republicans had tried to conduct by regular order this year, ground to a halt in recent weeks as House debates on the Confederate flag and other issues took center stage. The House Appropriations Committee approved an FCC funding bill with steep cuts last month that includes net neutrality riders, but that legislation never went to the floor as originally planned last week. The legislation isn't listed as on deck among the measures this week either. Boozman’s spokeswoman didn’t provide any details for what his FCC funding package slated for Wednesday markup may look like. Government funding expires Sept. 30, and funding by continuing resolution may be required.

It’s “very frustrating we aren’t able to do that,” Fischer said of the appropriations breakdown. “Why is this appropriations process not working the way it used to work?” asked Harold Furchtgott-Roth, a former FCC commissioner who heads Hudson’s Center for Economics of the Internet. Fischer blasted the way the system has become “polarized” and “political” and with “cameras rolling 24/7 and people looking for soundbites to get on the news, trying to get out press releases all the time, going on the Sunday shows,” she said. “I don’t believe that’s always helpful for a serious policy discussion. … I think it really tends to put out more misinformation for people.” She expects the Senate to deal with appropriations bills after the Labor Day weekend once it returns from its monthlong August congressional recess.

Mike Nelson, a public policy official for CloudFlare who attended the event, criticized “these draconian cuts in travel budgets” that prevent government officials from attending relevant meetings. “You bring up very good points,” Fischer told him, saying she hasn't called for cuts to travel budgets. “We can do a lot over the Internet but you can’t ever replace face-to-face discussion with your peers. I don’t think you can ever replace experiencing truly what is happening in another area of the world by watching it on TV. There are certain times that travel is necessary.” There’s a need for “better communication about the benefits” of it, she said.

Furchtgott-Roth dubbed Fischer the Senate leader on IoT, and Fisher worried about what government agency actions could do to hurt the growth of that technology. “It all has to do with connectivity and what we’re going to be able to do in the future,” she said of IoT. She identified herself and Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, as focused on the issue. “We were able to pass a resolution on it,” Fischer said. “We’ve sent a letter [to the GAO requesting a study] hoping to get some clarity on what the standards will be, basically what the national policy is going to be for the Internet of Things. … There is no policy on this yet.”

Fischer urged policymakers to address waste, fraud and abuse of Lifeline before attempting any expansions to the program. “The less regulated the Internet is, the better,” she said. She praised the state of broadband within Nebraska and pointed to the development of a state USF early on. She criticized U.S. cybersecurity policy and pressed for clearer coordination. “I don’t see that we’re moving very quickly in a direction where we can take all of those considerations, put them in mind, on what our response would be,” she said. “Would our response be similar in policy to what we have in regard to our nuclear deterrent? Would it be different for an attack on a financial institution to an attack on infrastructure? Do we look at deaths of Americans when we measure a response or is total disruption of their lives considered in the same way? There’s so much out there that I think we need to get started on.”

Furchtgott-Roth also inquired about Fischer's role in e-commerce legislation, such as the E-Label Act that was signed into law last year. She co-sponsored that bill with former Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. Fischer “really targeted” Rockefeller, with whom she’d had “a rocky start,” she said, wanting the “little more oomph” his backing would give the bill. “I really made a concerted effort to work with him and work on him in order to develop a relationship where we could work together on a bill.” Fischer believes consensus can be possible between Democrats and Republicans but stressed her conservative values and said there are some measures where she won't find Democratic backing. “I think we do get along but we represent different parts of a polarized nation,” she said.