Senate Still in Talks on FCC Auction Authority Extension to May 19: Schumer
Senate leaders “are working right now to get” the chamber to “come to an agreement very soon" for a temporary extension of the FCC’s spectrum auction authority before Thursday, the mandate’s current expiration date, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY., said…
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on the floor Monday. The House unanimously approved legislation last week to renew the FCC’s remit through May 19 (HR-1108). Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us she backs HR-1108’s timeline, while Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., is pressing for a renewal through Sept. 30, the end of FY 2023 (see 2302280068). The extension is needed “to give both sides more time to arrive at a larger comprehensive” spectrum legislative deal, Schumer said: Congress has never before allowed” the FCC’s authority “to lapse and to let it happen for the first time would be disastrous. Spectrum is essential for building out 5G capabilities. Its application impacts everything from families’ internet access, to satellite communications, all the way down to baby monitors.”