President Donald Trump Wednesday handed down a long-awaited executive order addressing use of technologies by foreign companies in U.S. communications networks (see 1812270037). The Commerce Department is to issue interim regulations in 150 days and will seek comment, administration officials told reporters. Speaking on condition they not be identified, they stressed that the order is “country agnostic” and doesn’t specifically address Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei or the Chinese government.
House Communications Subcommittee Democrats' widely expected airing of grievances against FCC Chairman Ajit Pai at a Wednesday oversight hearing is likely to be tempered by their interest in a range of telecom policy priorities and subcommittee Republicans' bid to deflect some of their colleagues' ire, officials and lobbyists told us. The hearing, which also includes the other four commissioners, will be the subcommittee's first on oversight of the agency since Democrats gained a majority in the chamber after the November elections. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
Senate Judiciary Committee leaders expressed alarm during a Tuesday hearing about the rising leadership of Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei and other Chinese government-backed entities over deployments of 5G technology overseas and the U.S.' failure thus far to halt their momentum. 5G security and related policy questions about the technology have repeatedly drawn Capitol Hill interest this year, including at a Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on the FY 2020 budgets of the FCC and FTC (see 1905070072). It's also expected to come up during the House Communications Subcommittee's Wednesday FCC oversight hearing (see 1905140060).
The House Task Force on Rural Broadband is a positive step toward improving internet connectivity in unserved areas of the U.S., but will need to come up with concrete legislative recommendations to be an effective policy player, communications sector officials and lobbyists told us. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., led formation of the group, which he announced Monday. President Donald Trump in late April agreed with top congressional Democrats to pursue $2 trillion in spending on broadband and other infrastructure projects (see 1904300194). The task force is one of several Capitol Hill pushes on broadband legislation, though some remain skeptical about the prospects for an overarching infrastructure funding bill.
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., confirmed Wednesday his office is in talks with Reps. Susan Brooks of Indiana and Tim Walberg of Michigan to be the lead Republican co-sponsors of a to-be-refiled version of the Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (Airwaves) Act. The bill, filed during the last Congress, aims to identify spectrum for unlicensed use and free up mid-band spectrum for wireless industry purchase via an FCC auction (see 1802070054). Brooks and Walberg separately told us they haven't made a decision on co-sponsoring. Walberg already was believed to be a potential contender (see 1904230069). Then-House Communications Vice Chairman Leonard Lance of New Jersey was the bill's lead Republican sponsor last Congress but lost his bid for re-election in November. Refiling appears likely to be “pushed back a little bit,” behind other legislative priorities, Doyle said. The bill's timeline already had been delayed, though Doyle and Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., insisted it's not on an indefinite hold (see 1903270071). Some have said the delay is due to a push for the wireless and cable industries to reach consensus on C-band language.
DOJ Antitrust Division head Makan Delrahim staked a claim to a lower-scale role in discussions within President Donald Trump's administration on how to ensure U.S. dominance in 5G deployments and developments, during a Wednesday Federalist Society event. Trump publicly opposed 5G nationalization amid longstanding concerns on Capitol Hill and elsewhere about the administration's direction on the issue last month (see 1904120065).
Telecom policy issues ultimately drew the most attention during a Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee hearing Tuesday on the FCC and FTC FY 2020 budget requests, including work to combat illegal robocalls and reallocate spectrum to support 5G. Some subcommittee members also talked about what language the FTC and FCC believe should be in a final privacy legislative package, though that garnered far less focus than expected (see 1905020057). President Donald Trump’s administration proposed more than $335.6 million in combined FY 2020 funding for the FCC and its Office of Inspector General and $312.3 million for the FTC (see 1903180063).
House Commerce Committee leaders told us they're in the earliest stages of exploring a revisit of NTIA reauthorization legislation, which they believe could be one vehicle for moving on some broadband and spectrum policy issues. The then-majority GOP House Communications Subcommittee last year released a draft recertification bill, but lawmakers gave it mixed reviews at a hearing (see 1806260064). Other lawmakers are also working on broadband bills amid renewed attention on a possible infrastructure legislative package (see 1904300194).
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and other commissioners could be facing a busy May schedule on Capitol Hill. Lobbyists expect at least two oversight hearings between now and Congress' planned weeklong Memorial Day recess. The Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the FCC's budget, plans to hold a hearing with commissioners in the coming weeks to examine the agency's FY 2020 funding request, Chairman John Kennedy, R-La., told us Wednesday. President Donald Trump's administration in March proposed more than $335.6 million in combined FY 2020 funding for the FCC and its Office of Inspector General, of which $11 million would be allocated to OIG (see 1903180063). Pai and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel testified to the House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee last month about the budget request (see 1904030082). House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., confirmed to reporters he is seeking to hold the subpanel's first FCC oversight hearing of this Congress mid-month, as expected (see 1904230069). House Communications is most likely to hold that hearing May 15, lobbyists said. Doyle and House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said soon after the 2018 election they intend to conduct more critical oversight hearings on the agency after Democrats regained the majority in the House (see 1811140055). House Commerce Democrats saw those efforts initially stymied by the 35-day government shutdown that ended in January and leadership's decision to fast-track consideration on HR-1644 (see 1903270045). Some lobbyists believe a Senate Commerce Committee FCC hearing is also possible but pegged it as less likely than the other two panels. The FCC and Senate Commerce didn't comment.
President Donald Trump agreed at Tuesday's meeting with top Democrats to pursue $2 trillion in spending on broadband and other infrastructure projects. Democratic leaders later cautioned that any forward momentum will depend on further talks with the administration and congressional Republicans. Democratic leaders first announced plans to meet with Trump earlier this month in a bid to revive interest in enacting a comprehensive bill (see 1904110068). Trump sought in his February State of the Union for Congress to “unite for a great rebuilding of America's crumbling infrastructure” (see 1902060002). In 2018, he called for a bill “that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment” that relied heavily on public-private partnerships (see 1803290046).