Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada, a Congressional Public Broadcasting Caucus co-chairman, said Thursday he joined three other Republicans in voting against the 2025 Rescissions Act (HR-4) because of its language clawing back $1.1 billion of CPB's advance funding for FY 2026 and FY 2027 (see 2506090036). The lower chamber passed HR-4 214-212, largely along party lines apart from the four GOP defectors (see 2506120084). CPB, NPR, PBS and America’s Public Television Stations urged the Senate Thursday night not to agree to the House-passed cuts.
The leaders of the House and Senate Communications subcommittees said Thursday they're reviving the bicameral USF revamp working group, which had paused its work on legislative recommendations last year amid uncertainty following the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in the Consumers' Research lawsuit against the program’s funding mechanism (see 2407300053). The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for its review of the case in March (see 2503260061). Working group members had considered melding the FCC’s lapsed affordable connectivity program with USF’s Lifeline program and keeping the latter’s narrower eligibility rules (see 2404170066).
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, praised NTIA’s rewritten rules for its $42.5 billion BEAD program, which require states to reapply for the money (see 2506060052). Panel ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington and other Democrats have strongly criticized NTIA and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (see 2506090051).
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB) and more than 80 other groups jointly urged House lawmakers not to pass the Senate-cleared Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval (S.J.Res. 7) to undo the FCC's July 2024 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots. The Senate cleared S.J.Res. 7 earlier this month on a 50-38 party-line vote (see 2505080055).
The House Communications Subcommittee plans a hearing June 4 on how U.S. communications networks can support AI applications, the Commerce Committee said Wednesday night. AI “is launching our economy into a new American golden age marked by development and opportunity, but these increasingly dynamic industries need certainty that our networks can support the future of artificial intelligence and its applications,” said House Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Communications Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C. “Fast, reliable networks are crucial for enabling innovation and enhancing America’s technological advantage. We look forward to discussing with our witnesses about how Congress can support this important goal.” The hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
The House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee scheduled a hearing June 4 to examine the next steps to combat illegal robocalls and robotexts, the Commerce Committee said Wednesday. “Illegal, predatory robocalls and robotexts have defrauded Americans of billions of dollars and undermined the public’s faith in the communications they receive,” said House Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Oversight Chairman Gary Palmer, R-Ala. “Despite congressional and agency enforcement actions, rapid technological development has made it increasingly difficult to stop this scourge.” The hearing will eye “ongoing efforts to target these fraudsters and ways to protect Americans from illegal robocalls and robotexts that are meant to harass and deceive,” the lawmakers said. It will begin at 10:15 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn.
Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan hailed a group of six House lawmakers Wednesday for relaunching the Congressional Rural Broadband Caucus. Former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., and former Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, are among the caucus’s co-chairs. The group “has served as an essential voice for rural America, and we are encouraged to see its re-launch with strong bipartisan support,” Donovan said. “Connectivity is a lifeline for rural communities -- supporting education, agriculture, healthcare, public safety, and economic opportunity. At a time when several critical policies will shape the future of rural connectivity, we appreciate the Caucus’s renewed focus on advancing policies empowering rural carriers to build and sustain robust networks for their communities.”
Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., on Thursday night criticized spectrum language included in the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR-1). The House cleared HR-1 Thursday 215-214 with provisions that would restore the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2034, and mandate that the federal government reallocate at least 600 MHz of airwaves for commercial licensed use (see 2505220064). “There is strong bipartisan concern about handing over this spectrum,” Lujan said. “Yet House Republicans are moving ahead at President [Donald] Trump’s directive, prioritizing billionaires over the urgent need to invest in broadband access.”
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged fellow senators Wednesday to investigate whether the phones they’re using are protected from surveillance. The major carriers have different policies, he wrote in a “dear colleague” letter.
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the Network Equipment Transparency Act (S-503) on a unanimous voice vote Wednesday. S-503 would direct the FCC to report every two years on the effect of gear availability on the deployment of broadband and other communications services as part of the commission’s assessment of the state of the communications marketplace. The panel also advanced Commerce Department general counsel nominee Pierre Gentin 15-13, with all Democratic senators reflecting their opposition during his confirmation hearing to President Donald Trump’s move to block Digital Equity Act funding (see 2505090051).