CEA still has concerns about Internet accessibility legislation that Democrats are pushing to finish by July 26, the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it said. The Senate Commerce Committee plans Thursday to mark up a revised version of S-3304 by Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and John Kerry, D-Mass. An amendment by Pryor that circulated among lobbyists Wednesday didn’t relieve CEA’s concerns that the bill is too broad and imposes too many technical requirements, said Jason Oxman, a senior vice president of the association. CEA has similar concerns about the House version, by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass. The association supports ensuring that its products are accessible but opposes mandates that dictate functionality, because it believes Congress should “leave innovation to the innovators,” Oxman said. CEA has been working with House and Senate members to improve the legislation and plans to continue “up to the point where it gets to the floor,” if necessary, he said. Other industry groups involved in the legislative discussions, including USTelecom, NCTA and CTIA, didn’t comment. USTelecom raised concerns about some technical aspects of the bill at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in May, but changes since seem to have resolved the association’s concerns, a telecom industry official said. The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, which has supported the legislation, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Adam Bender
Adam Bender, Deputy Managing Editor for Privacy Daily. Bender leads a team of journalists and reports on state privacy legislation, rulemaking and litigation. In previous roles at Communications Daily, he covered telecom and internet policy in the states, Congress and at the FCC. He has won awards for his reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA) and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW). Bender studied print journalism at American University and is the author of multiple dystopian sci-fi novels. Keep up to date with Bender by reading his blog and following him on social media including Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn.
The House passed legislation to expand telework opportunities for federal workers after Republicans successfully tweaked it to their liking in a last-minute effort on the House floor Wednesday. The House voted 290-131 to approve an amended bill after voting 304-118 on a measure by Oversight Committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa, R-Calif., that included changes to the bill that Issa said would ensure the legislation is “cost neutral,” as well as ensure federal employee integrity while telecommuting. The bill moves to the Senate.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., “would not be happy” if defense appropriations legislation took broadband stimulus money away from NTIA and the Rural Utilities Service, the Commerce Committee chairman told us after the senators’ policy lunch Tuesday. Earlier this month, the House passed and sent to the Senate a defense bill that would partially pay for new domestic spending using $602 million allocated to those agencies for broadband under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (CD July 6 p1) . Also, Rockefeller said that Senate negotiations on comprehensive cybersecurity legislation are “going well.” While some say working out differences between competing bills by Rockefeller and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., may be a challenge (CD July 12 p2), Rockefeller said there’s “not much” overlap and he believes the two senators can work something out.
Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, plans next week to offer his amendment to FCC budget legislation that would stop the commission from using Congressional funding to increase Internet regulation, his spokesman said Tuesday. “The amendment is still being drafted, but [Culberson] plans to offer it at the yet-to-be scheduled markup sometime next week” of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services, the spokesman said. Culberson previewed the proposed amendment at the subcommittee’s June hearing and again in an op-ed Monday (CD July 13 p8).
The White House may brief Hill staffers Friday on President Barack Obama’s recent spectrum announcement related to the National Broadband Plan, Hill and industry officials said. The same day, House and Senate Commerce Committee and Communications Subcommittee staffers are expected to meet with industry about spectrum issues in the third of a series of discussions about updating the Telecom Act. Massachusetts Democrats Rep. Ed Markey and Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry are preparing major spectrum bills to complement the White House effort (CD June 29 p1). Their legislation may surface within the next two weeks, a wireless industry official said. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Cybersecurity is a legislative priority for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., his spokeswoman said. He and Senate committee chairmen hope to introduce and vote on a comprehensive bill this September, Senate staffers said. Challenges remain, including working out differences between two major bills by Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and getting approval from Republicans and the House, said Senate and industry officials. Negotiations over the next three to four weeks will be critical, said an aide.
Comcast made new diversity commitments relating to the NBC Universal deal, including a promise to put $20 million into a venture capital fund. In a letter to Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., and statements Thursday at a House Communications Subcommittee hearing in Chicago, Comcast executives emphasized increasing the presence of blacks and other minorities in employment and programs. The concessions came after criticisms by Rush and other members of Congress, as well as civil rights groups, of a lack of diversity at the two companies. Meanwhile, a new coalition, mostly of long-time foes of the deal, has formed.
It was “more of the same” in the second Hill talk among House and Senate Commerce Committee staffers and about 30 outside parties interested in updating the Telecom Act, said attendee Andrew Schwartzman, senior vice president of the Media Access Project. The gathering, held behind closed doors Friday morning in the Russell Senate Office Building, was a follow up to a June 25 meeting hosted by the House (CD June 28 p1). All attendees from the previous week except Sprint Nextel and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation returned.
President Barack Obama unveiled $795 million in broadband grants and loans the morning after the House appropriators passed an amendment to take back $602 million in available broadband money. The latest batch of awards was matched by $200 million in outside investment, and will benefit 685,000 businesses, 900 healthcare facilities, 2,400 schools and “tens of millions of Americans,” the White House said.
House Communications Subcommittee leaders met Thursday with ISPs and others about narrow legislation on network neutrality and the FCC’s broadband jurisdiction. Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., invited Ranking Member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., and most of the companies that talked to the FCC behind closed doors (CD June 25 p8) on June 21, Boucher said. Attendees included AT&T, Verizon, NCTA, Google and the Open Internet Coalition, industry officials said.