Debate at a House Antitrust Law Subcommittee hearing Wednesday rehashed points for and against the role the FTC and DOJ can play in net neutrality, as expected (see 1710310064). Lawmakers did delve into the possibilities for antitrust-related legislation on net neutrality, including FTC commissioners' calls for Congress to eliminate the common-carrier exemption as a means of restoring their agency's authority on net neutrality in the wake of FCC-expected rescission of its 2015 rules and related reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service. House Commerce Committee work on compromise net neutrality legislation and a related hearing are stalled (see 1707250059, 1707310066, 1708070068 and 1708300050).
The path forward for Senate confirmation of David Redl as NTIA administrator is “really up to Democrats” now that Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, placed a hold on the vote, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday. Schatz told us Monday evening he placed the hold so he and other Senate Democrats can get information about the deal that Redl and President Donald Trump’s administration reached earlier this month to get Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to lift his own earlier hold on the nominee (see 1710230026, 1710230062 and 1710300028). “We are trying to work through” concerns about the nature of the agreement, Schatz told us: “I am not satisfied” with the amount of information available about the deal and “I won't release my hold until I am.” Redl's nomination “has cleared” the Republicans' hotline process so it's now “up to the Dems now on whether” a vote under unanimous consent happens, Thune said Tuesday. The months-long vacancy at NTIA is a “big concern” given myriad policy issues the agency tackles, he said.
Wednesday's House Judiciary Antitrust Law Subcommittee hearing is expected to largely rehash known points in the debate over the role the FTC and DOJ can play in net neutrality. Communications sector lobbyists see the hearing as a bid by House Judiciary to reassert oversight. House Judiciary Antitrust held a similar hearing in 2015 (see 1505150030). Acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen, FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny, Mobile Future Chief Public Policy Adviser Robert McDowell and NTCA Senior Vice President-Industry Affairs and Business Development Michael Romano are to testify (see 1710270060). The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 2141 Rayburn.
Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said he placed a hold to block a full Senate vote on David Redl’s confirmation to be NTIA administrator. That confirmed what industry officials and lobbyists told us earlier Monday. It also dashed for now Senate Republican leaders' hopes to hotline Redl’s nomination, which would have set up a confirmation vote under unanimous consent rules in the near future, a telecom lobbyist noted. Schatz said in the interview that he placed the hold so he and other Senate Democrats can get information about the deal that Redl and President Donald Trump’s administration reached earlier this month to get Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to lift his own earlier hold on the nominee (see 1710230026 and 1710230062).
The Senate Commerce Committee's main telecom policy priority for the remainder of this year is likely to be an amplified focus on broadband infrastructure issues before the long-anticipated release of a White House-backed infrastructure legislative package expected to include a broadband title, lawmakers and lobbyists told us. Other telecom-related issues also could command the committee's attention depending on a range of other factors, including advancement of the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA), they said. The committee remains unlikely to take up FCC reauthorization legislation even if the House is able to pass its own version this year, lobbyists said.
The House Judiciary Antitrust Law Subcommittee plans a Wednesday hearing on antitrust regulators' role in net neutrality, as expected (see 1710240065), said a notice Thursday with few details. The hearing is to begin at 10 a.m. in 2141 Rayburn. It's expected to focus only on the FTC's role in net neutrality, though it's unclear whether the subcommittee would ask acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen to testify, a communications sector lobbyist said. The White House announced President Donald Trump's intent last week to nominate Paul Weiss antitrust lawyer Joseph Simons to the FTC with the intent of naming him chairman (see 1710190001 and 1710190055). But Simons and two other intended FTC nominees hadn't had their selections formally sent to the Senate at our deadline Thursday. Judiciary hadn't finalized its witness list Thursday, a spokeswoman said. The FTC didn't comment. The hearing would follow months after the House Commerce Committee indefinitely delayed its own net neutrality hearing amid difficulties in getting eight invited CEOs from top ISPs and edge providers to testify (see 1708300050).
The House Communications Subcommittee's Wednesday FCC oversight hearing featured a sometimes contentious exchange over President Donald Trump's recent comments threatening to challenge NBC licenses, criticism of recent FCC actions that could affect Sinclair's proposed buy of Tribune, and discussion about a mix of lower-temperature issues, as expected (see 1710240065). FCC Chairman Ajit Pai again repeated his commitment to the First Amendment without specifically citing the president. Pai invoked the controversy to announce the details of media ownership reconsideration order that he plans to publish Thursday (see 1710250037 and 1710250049). "If you believe as I do that the federal government has no business intervening in the news, then we must stop the federal government from intervening in the news business" via the order, he said.
The House Communications Subcommittee's Wednesday FCC oversight hearing is still widely expected to feature ample discussion on President Donald Trump's recent comments threatening the licenses of NBC and implications for commission's independence. But the issue is unlikely to overwhelmingly dominate the proceedings, lawmakers and lobbyists told us.
The path toward Senate confirmation of David Redl as NTIA administrator got clearer Monday after Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, lifted his hold preventing a vote on the nominee (see 1710230026). But final Senate consideration of Redl hadn't been scheduled at our deadline and was unlikely to occur this week, several communications sector lobbyists told us. Cruz’s long-standing concerns about Redl’s position on the 2016 Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition prompted several delays of a Senate Commerce Committee vote on Redl (see 1706280027, 1706280061, 1708020052 and 1708160034). Cruz placed a hold on Senate action after the committee advanced Redl earlier this month on a voice vote (see 1710040063).
White House Thursday confirmation that President Donald Trump intends to fill the three vacant FTC commissioner seats, including to make Paul Weiss antitrust lawyer Joseph Simons permanent chairman (see 1710190001), likely means the FTC can move forward with its long-expected shift toward GOP-sought policy goals in tech and telecom, industry officials and lobbyists told us. The commission has faced a 1-1 deadlock since January under Republican acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen and Democratic Commissioner Terrell McSweeny.