Some GOP Wildcards Seen Ahead of Senate Vote to End FCC's E-Rate Hot Spots Rule
Supporters of the FCC's July 2024 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services are eyeing several Republican senators they believe could oppose a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval (S.J.Res. 7) to undo the rule, which the chamber is set to begin considering Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told us Monday night he's optimistic the chamber will advance an initial procedural hurdle on the CRA measure.
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“I think we're in good shape” on S.J.Res. 7, Thune said Monday night, shortly after he scheduled a Tuesday afternoon vote on a motion to proceed to the vote. He noted that CRA measures the Senate has brought up for votes have generally drawn opposition only from a few Republicans but most will “be on board [with] this kind of rolling back the Biden [administration] regulatory state.” Motions to proceed require only a simple majority rather than the 60-vote cloture rule. The Senate's procedural vote on S.J.Res. 7 will begin after the chamber finishes its 2:15 p.m. consideration of Social Security Administration commissioner nominee Frank Bisignano.
Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition Executive Director Joey Wender acknowledged that it won't be known which Republicans defect on S.J.Res. 7 “until the vote happens, [but there are] many Republican Senate offices that … understand how hot spots could benefit their constituents.” He pointed to Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both of Alaska, as potential wildcards. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., previously also named that trio.
Murkowski and Sullivan “have long been strong supporters of [USF] and we all know Alaska benefits greatly from” E-rate and other programs it funds, Wender said. Collins is among Republican senators SHLB has “had good conversations with” in recent months on the matter. The trio's offices didn't immediately comment. Those three Republicans’ defections on S.J.Res. 7 would only result in a 50-50 tie. Vice President JD Vance would likely break a deadlock in favor of moving forward on the CRA measure.
Cantwell and other Democratic senators said they will speak against S.J.Res. 7 after the Tuesday procedural vote. “I am definitely going to talk” against the CRA measure, although it may be in the context of the Trump administration's “overall strategy” on broadband, Cantwell told us. “We want broadband availability, [but] we'll see whether any of our Republican colleagues support that” Tuesday. “Repealing the FCC’s expansion of the E-Rate program is a cruel and shortsighted decision that will widen the digital divide and rob kids of the tools they need to succeed,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. “My colleagues must join me in opposing this cruel resolution.”