A Senate “hotline” of a spectrum inventory bill is in progress and could wrap up this week, but it’s unclear whether unanimous consent will be given, a Senate aide told us Friday. Republicans on Monday last week began asking senators from their party whether any object to the bipartisan bill (S-649) by Senate Commerce Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., the aide said. The Democrats started their own hotline Wednesday, said Senate and industry officials. It’s not unusual for the process to take several days, and it’s not clear whether any qualms have been raised, the Senate aide said. The House passed similar legislation on a roll-call vote last week (CD April 15 p10).
The House Commerce Committee approved by a 47-0 roll-call vote a cybersecurity bill that would amend the Federal Power Act to enable FERC to quickly address security threats to the electric grid. The committee approved by voice vote a manager’s amendment that included tweaks requiring notification of Congress whenever the president determines a grid security threat exists, and to require FERC consultation with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Democratic and Republican members agreed the bill (HR-5026) would improve national security and saluted friendly work between parties.
The House passed caller ID spoofing and spectrum inventory legislation, in votes under suspension of the rules Wednesday. It also passed a tax reform bill (HR-3994) that would remove a requirement that companies and employees keep track of personal calls on employer-supplied cellphones. All the bills had bipartisan support, but the inventory bill faced a roadblock on its first presentation when a single representative objected, forcing a recorded vote later in the afternoon. A suspension vote prevents amendments and requires a two-thirds majority.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski repeatedly deflected senators’ questions Wednesday on how the commission will respond to the recent net neutrality decision by the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Genachowski said the FCC has all the authority it needs to carry out proposals in the National Broadband Plan. Democratic senators seemed open to reclassifying broadband under Title II of the Communications Act, at least as a stopgap before a new law. Republicans sharply disagreed. “The legitimacy of the agency would be seriously compromised” if the FCC reclassifies broadband as a common-carrier service without instructions from Congress, said Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.
The House Communications Subcommittee postponed a set-top box hearing that had been planned for Thursday, Hill and industry officials said Tuesday. No reason was given or new date set.
The long awaited satellite TV reauthorization remains stuck in the House due mainly to a Congressional Budget Office bill-scoring issue. The license allowing satellite TV companies to import distant signals is to expire at the end of the month. Ranking Member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., of the House Communications Subcommittee told us in a written statement Tuesday that “the bill is held up due to a copyright provision and it is not clear when the bill will proceed."
A spectrum bill by Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., is “undergoing some improvements,” so it “won’t be ready for a vote this week,” a spokesman said Monday. “We are confident it will be on the floor very soon.” The bill (HR-3019), which would streamline moving federal users off spectrum bands, had traveled alongside inventory legislation (HR-3125) by House Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., in subcommittee and committee votes. But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said last week the House would vote Wednesday on only the Waxman bill (CD April 12 p1).
Spectrum inventory legislation is speeding to the finish line in the House and Senate. The Senate may soon pass by unanimous consent a bill (S-649) by Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., Senate aides told us Friday. And House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said late Thursday the House plans to vote Wednesday morning on a similar bill (HR-3125) by Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif. Also up for a House vote that day is a caller ID spoofing bill (HR-1258) by Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., that would ban manipulation of caller ID information.
The House Communications Subcommittee plans to discuss gateway devices and CableCARDs at an April 15 hearing on the National Broadband Plan, a subcommittee spokeswoman said Thursday. The hearing will also look at implementation of Section 629 of the Communications Act, she said. The subcommittee had a more-general hearing on the plan before Congress left for recess. House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said there that he hoped to hold a series of followup hearings on specific issues in the plan.
A court decision that the FCC lacked authority to regulate Comcast network management could fuel arguments for a legislative approach to Universal Service Fund reform, said Hill and industry officials. The ruling may not spur the Hill to action on USF this year, given an uninterested Senate and tight legislative schedule (CD April 7 p4), they said. The National Broadband Plan outlined a way for the FCC to revamp USF on its own, but House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., has voiced skepticism the agency can do a USF overhaul without Congress.