Democratic Senate Appropriator Sees Chance Set-top Rider Stays in Funding Bill
A Democratic Senate appropriator told us a set-top box rider may stay hitched to the appropriations legislation this year. The Senate’s FY 2017 funding bill followed the House lead and included a rider to require “the FCC to complete an impact study of the agency’s set top box proposal” and another that “reaffirms congressional intent on grandfathered joint sales agreements,” said a GOP summary. The Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee cleared the bill Wednesday and the Appropriations Committee will mark up the measure at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in 106 Dirksen.
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“It may” stay in, subcommittee ranking member Chris Coons, D-Del., said in an interview Wednesday of the set-top rider. “I have raised concerns about privacy and copyright with the rule, but we’re still working on this this afternoon.”
These specific riders didn’t come up during the brief subcommittee markup earlier Wednesday. “I was very pleased that this bill was largely lacking in controversial policy proposals that have been a marked challenge for other subcommittees in previous years,” Coons said then. “Rather than listing all of them, I’ll simply say that I’m very pleased that controversial provisions that made it hard for us to move forward last year are almost completely lacking from this year’s bill, and I think that’s our path back to regular order.”
The committee Democrats’ news release said the funding bill lacks “poison pill riders” on the FCC’s net neutrality order. Last year, Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., unsuccessfully sought to ban FCC broadband rate regulation through a rider. He had weighed including such a rider again this year but said earlier this year he wanted to focus on riders that could garner bipartisan support. Some members of both parties have outlined concerns about preserving broadcaster JSAs and asked the FCC to pause its set-top box proceeding for further study.
There was earlier Senate Appropriations Democratic concern about the drafting of the House set-top rider, which was viewed as perhaps more of a delay tactic than substance (see 1606020070). The precise legislative language of the riders was unreleased Wednesday. “Bill text and report language will be released after the full committee markup tomorrow,” a Republican Appropriations Committee spokesman told us when asked for the language. A Coons spokesman didn’t say whether the Senate set-top rider is identical to the House rider.
Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said earlier this month the House set-top rider would be a “nonstarter” and “poison pill” for senators. Schatz is a member of the Appropriations Committee but a spokesman didn’t say whether Schatz may speak about or oppose the set-top rider during full committee markup Thursday. Spokespeople for Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who has outlined concerns about the set-top proposal, and Appropriations Committee ranking member Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., didn’t comment Wednesday. A spokesman for Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., previously told us he's fine with a legislatively mandated pause to the proceeding.
“We’ve been reviewing the language today, and I’ve gotten a fair amount of input from other senators,” Coons told us of the set-top rider. “In terms of what will happen at the markup tomorrow with the rider, I think that’s not yet clear. I will say the bill overall, it is a very large, very complex bill, is free of the sort of poison pill riders that have dominated other subcommittees this year and this subcommittee in previous years, and I really appreciate Chairman Boozman’s efforts to meet me halfway and try to produce a workable bill.”
“The bill funds the FCC at $341 million, which is $43 million, or 11 percent, less than the fiscal year 2016 level and $26 million, or 7 percent, less than the President’s request,” the Democratic committee news release said. “The FCC requires additional funding in fiscal year 2017 to support moving costs caused by an expiring lease and to make essential IT upgrades. While this funding level provides moving costs, it does not allow the FCC to make critical IT investments and would likely result in reduced staffing levels through a hiring freeze and furloughs. The bill also freezes the FCC’s auctions program at $117 million, $7 million below the President’s request. The FCC uses these funds to support its spectrum auctions program.”
Coons cited what he considered the shortfall to FCC funding. The FCC funding decisions “fall short of what I view as their needed funding,” he said during the subcommittee markup. The House FY 2017 FCC funding bill, which cleared committee earlier this month with fierce opposition by Democrats for both its funding levels and policy riders, would give far less money to the FCC: $314.8 million (see 1606090057).
But Coons is happy with the negotiation with Boozman, which created “an outcome that I look forward to supporting,” Coons said. “I support advancing this bill with the notable reservations in terms of funding levels that I just referenced and some reluctance.”
“I am hopeful that the bill will gain bipartisan support when we go before the full committee tomorrow,” Boozman said. “Members who would like to see changes will have an opportunity then to offer amendments, and I respect their right to do so.”