Two Senate Commerce Committee members said they sympathize with public safety on what to do with the 700 MHz D-block. At an FCBA lunch Wednesday, Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., said that as a former mayor he is “very, very sympathetic” to public safety and “will give them a lot of credibility.” Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, another ex-mayor, said to expect significant “bipartisan” support for public safety. He said that public safety must have the “capacity to do their work.”
Stand down on net neutrality, top Hill Republicans told FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski after he announced the commission would move forward with a rulemaking. (See separate report above.) While many lawmakers issued angry statements Wednesday, more concrete Hill action isn’t expected until January. Genachowski won guarded support for his proposal from some Democrats, including Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska.
Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., may face questions from net neutrality advocates as he seeks to lead Democrats next year on the House Communications Subcommittee. Rush opposed the FCC’s net neutrality effort but has the edge by seniority to become ranking member. ColorOfChange.org this month urged Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to reject Rush’s bid because of his position on the issue (CD Nov 22 p11).
The House plans to vote next week on the CALM Act, which would require lowering the volume of TV commercials to that of regular programming. The House also plans to consider another continuing resolution to maintain funding for federal agencies until regular appropriations are approved, amid pleas from state regulators to provide additional funding to federal agencies charged with overseeing the broadband stimulus program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., plans “no changes” to his bill to revamp the Universal Service Fund, he said in an interview last week. He hopes the bill, six years in the making, can be reintroduced early next session, he said. After the election defeat of Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., Terry is looking for a new Democratic co-sponsor.
Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., should chair the Commerce Committee next year if Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, can’t get a waiver from GOP term-limit rules, Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., told us Friday. Terry endorsed Barton for chairman (CD Nov 18 p6) in a letter earlier in the week. But Upton is his second choice “because of seniority,” Terry said. Losers of the GOP race for Commerce Committee chair will likely seek the Communications Subcommittee chair as their fallback, unless they want to lead the Energy Subcommittee, he said.
Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., “will remain active” after he departs the Congress at the end of the year, he said in an interview last week. “I'm 64 but I feel pretty young … and I think I'm good for another 20 years doing something.” The outgoing House Communications Subcommittee chairman hopes Congress next year will finish bipartisan work he started on privacy, incentive auctions and a revamped Universal Service Fund.
Who becomes chairman of the House Communications Subcommittee will depend on who is named Commerce Committee chairman, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., told us at a reception Thursday sponsored by The Hill. Walden, a former broadcaster, is reportedly in the running to lead the subcommittee, but he wouldn’t say whether he’s interested. Walden, who leads the GOP Transition Committee, said it’s up to the Steering Committee to decide whether Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas, can regain the chairmanship. Under GOP committee term limits, Barton needs a waiver to get the job. The Steering Committee will simply elect the chairman, and the outcome will show whether Barton got his waiver, Walden said. “Otherwise, our term limits are in place.”
Legislators from both parties doubted a Capitol Hill deal on net neutrality is possible in the near term. But the lawmakers from the House and Senate were upbeat on spectrum and privacy action, at a Politico forum Thursday. Spectrum and privacy are also priorities for President Barack Obama, said U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., wants Congress to fix TV and protect consumers, he said Wednesday afternoon. A broken retransmission consent system is just one “symptom” of the problem, the Commerce Committee chairman told a Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing. While open to revising retrans rules, Subcommittee Ranking Member John Ensign, R-Nev., said he wouldn’t support government-required arbitration as envisioned in a draft bill by Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass.