SHLB, Others Urge House Not to Pass CRA Undoing FCC's E-rate Hot Spots Order
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB) and more than 80 other groups jointly urged House lawmakers not to pass the Senate-cleared Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval (S.J.Res. 7) to undo the FCC's July 2024 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots. The Senate cleared S.J.Res. 7 earlier this month on a 50-38 party-line vote (see 2505080055).
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The House “now has its opportunity to weigh in and acknowledge the harm this resolution will cause to rural and underserved communities around the country,” SHLB and other groups said in a letter to all representatives. “If this resolution becomes law, not only would the FCC have to reject currently pending requests for hotspots from schools and libraries across the nation, the FCC would be barred from ever reinstituting this program. In short, this resolution would prevent millions of students and library patrons across the country from obtaining internet access now and in the future.”
The groups argued that the FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr “can address the future of the E-Rate hotspot lending program at a later date. Deferring to the FCC will allow time for more public discussion and not harm the approximately 8,000 schools and libraries nationwide that have already submitted hotspot applications in the current E-Rate funding year, along with the countless other schools and libraries that may one day seek this crucial funding.” Carr and fellow Republican FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington both backed S.J.Res. 7.
Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, lead sponsor of S.J.Res. 7 companion H.J.Res. 33, is “in communication with” the House Commerce Committee about his version of the measure and “is committed to having this legislation brought forward to overturn the Biden administration’s FCC rule expanding the E-Rate program beyond its statutory limits and to prevent similar regulatory overreach in the future,” a spokesperson said.