Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Greg Pence, R-Ind., filed a House companion to the Senate's Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act (S-3309) Tuesday. The measure, which Senate Commerce advanced in December (see 2112150069), would direct the Commerce Department’s SelectUSA program to work with state-level economic development organizations to develop strategies to attract investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturers and supply chains. “Disruptions in the semiconductor supply chain have impacted nearly every aspect of our economy and the daily lives of Americans,” Eshoo said. “Our Country has had to learn the hard way that relying on foreign supply chains jeopardizes our economic and national security,” Pence said. “There are other nations who know this, wanting to outpace our economy and chip away at our hold as a global superpower, and take advantage of this fact. America cannot be caught off-guard again, and this legislation would address that shortcoming.”

Top Republicans on the Senate and House Commerce committees urged NTIA Tuesday to rely solely on the FCC’s pending revised broadband coverage data maps as the basis for distributing money from the $42.5 billion broadband equity, access and deployment program. It should not prioritize any particular type of network or broadband technology in evaluating applications for money from the infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, they said. The committees’ Democratic leaders in March urged “an emphasis on affordability, digital inclusion, high-capacity networks, competition, and community engagement” as part of NTIA’s implementation of IIJA (see 2204130049). “Closing the digital divide is a top priority of Congress, but this will only be achieved if NTIA carefully administers these programs and prioritizes unserved and underserved communities based on accurate data,” Senate Commerce ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi, House Commerce ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington and the GOP leads on the House and Senate Communications subcommittees jointly urged NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson to “not deviate” from IIJA’s “explicit instructions” for determining what areas would be eligible to receive the law’s broadband funding, including making unserved areas the top priority. NTIA should also “refrain from adding additional, needless requirements that will increase the cost and challenges of deploying new networks,” the Republicans said. “These include requiring broadband providers to commit to net neutrality restrictions, adopting burdensome labor standards, and favoring open-access networks.” Senate Communications ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., raised concerns during Davidson’s confirmation process that the now-administrator hadn’t committed to not requiring companies receiving BEAD money to follow net neutrality requirements (see 2112140074).

The Communications Workers of America launched what it described Monday as a “six-figure” online ad campaign urging all 50 Senate Democrats to support FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, who has faced a difficult confirmation process since President Joe Biden picked her in October (see 2204150063). CWA bought ads aimed at a national audience and others targeted at audiences in Arizona, Nevada and West Virginia. Three Democratic senators from those states -- Nevada’s Catherine Cortez Masto, Arizona’s Mark Kelly and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin -- are considered undecided on Sohn (see 2203300069). The delay in Sohn’s confirmation “makes it harder for the FCC to serve the American people, which is how the corporations that the agency is meant to regulate like it,” said CWA Senior Director-Government Affairs and Policy Shane Larson in a statement. “It’s past time for the Senate to confirm her so that the FCC can have a full complement of commissioners and get to work.” CWA’s campaign follows ads that One Country Project began disseminating last week in opposition to Sohn, targeted at senators in six states: Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Montana, Nevada and West Virginia. Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., a member of One Country’s board, began criticizing Sohn in March (see 2203170070).

The House plans to consider two telecom supply chain bills as soon as Wednesday under suspension of the rules: the Transatlantic Telecommunications Security Act (HR-3344) and Protecting Semiconductor Supply Chain Materials from Authoritarians Act (HR-7372). HR-3344 and Senate companion S-2876 would help Central and Eastern European countries build 5G networks using equipment not made by Chinese manufacturer Huawei, including by authorizing U.S. International Development Finance Corporation financing for infrastructure development. HR-7372 would create a working group for reporting on the semiconductor supply chain disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The group would develop strategies for bolstering supplies of semiconductor materials and monitor potential threats to supply chains.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will testify at a Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the Commerce Department's FY 2023 budget priorities, the panel said. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell. President Joe Biden's FY23 spending proposal for Commerce includes $67 million for NTIA (see 2203280069). The Patent Office would get $4.25 billion, NIST would get $1.47 billion and the Bureau of Industry and Security would get $199.55 million.

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s comments last week criticizing new antirust legislation on privacy grounds suggest he’s “terrified” of competition, and that the company doesn’t want U.S. consumers circumventing the App Store (see 2204120062), said Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in a statement Friday. Cook spoke about privacy concerns about the Open App Markets Act (S-2710), introduced by Blackburn and Blumenthal, leaders of the Senate Consumer Protection Subcommittee. “It misses the mark to say we can’t have both consumer privacy and competition in the app marketplace,” they said. The Senate Judiciary Committee-passed bill “acknowledges this balance. Suggesting otherwise is a scare tactic to justify closing markets off to competition.” They agreed with Cook about the need for comprehensive privacy legislation and said there are active discussions among parties.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo cited a need to "make sure we change" the ongoing lack of broadband in tribal and rural communities during a Thursday White House event to roll out Biden administration equity action plans. Commerce aims to address "digital inequalities to promote not only the availability of reliable, affordable high speed broadband access but also the adoption and meaningful use of broadband for all Americans," the department's action plan said. It cited the rollout of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives within NTIA's Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth as an early accomplishment of that goal. The White House cited NTIA's implementation of more than $48 billion in connectivity money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as one way the administration is acting to address equity, noting the money will "help close the digital divide, particularly for rural and Tribal communities." DOD, meanwhile, is "advancing the safe and equitable use of" AI technology "to mitigate algorithmic bias by investing in agency-wide responsible AI development and investing in the development of a more diverse AI workforce, including through partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)," the White House said.

The Senate confirmed National Institute of Standards and Technology director nominee Laurie Locascio by voice vote Thursday (see 2203030070).

The Senate gaveled out Thursday for a two-week Easter/Passover recess, meaning further floor action on FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya and FCC nominee Gigi Sohn will be delayed until at least April 25, as expected (see 2204050064). Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., filed cloture Thursday on Bedoya but hadn't scheduled a vote at our deadline. The chamber voted 51-50 last week to discharge Bedoya from Senate Commerce Committee jurisdiction and must hold a similar vote on Sohn because the committee cast tied votes on both nominees last month (see 2203030070). Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us before the chamber voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court (see 2204070058) that she doubted further pre-recess action on either nominee was likely unless the chamber stayed in session past Thursday. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, continued to believe Sohn’s confirmation prospects are dimming amid chatter about potential Democratic holdouts on the nominee (see 2203300069). “That’s why Schumer's not bringing her to the floor” before the recess, Sullivan said. Democrats who are facing tough re-election battles this year who might vote in Sohn’s favor would be delivering their GOP opponents “a campaign ad on a silver platter.” The Chamber of Progress, CompTIA, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Consumer Technology Association, Incompas, Internet Infrastructure Coalition and NTCA pressed the Senate Thursday to “move expeditiously” to confirm Sohn. “The absence of a fifth Commissioner hamstrings the agency when U.S. leadership on technology policy is most needed,” the groups said in a letter to Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “As authoritarian regimes around the world move to supplant U.S. leadership and restrict access to an open and free internet, we must ensure the U.S. government is well positioned to thoroughly consider and advance policies that promote democratic values.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday named Democratic members to the China package conference (see 2204060074). Schumer named 13, including Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell of Washington; Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner of Virginia; Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters of Michigan; Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown of Ohio; and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden of Oregon. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., announced his selection to the conference committee. Pelosi Democratic members from 15 committees as conferees for Congress’ China package House Commerce Committee conferees are Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey; Anna Eshoo of California; Jan Schakowsky of Illinois; Doris Matsui of California; Paul Tonko of New York; Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware; and Darren Soto of Florida. Judiciary Committee members are Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York and Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania. House Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters of California and House Science Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas were included. Suzan DelBene of Washington made the list as a member of the Ways and Means Committee. Homeland Security Committee members are Dina Titus of Nevada and Val Demings of Florida. House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., announced Republican members from her panel: Larry Bucshon of Indiana; Buddy Carter of Georgia; Jeff Duncan of South Carolina; and Dan Crenshaw of Texas. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a Thursday statement she looks forward to “working with these lawmakers and their soon-to-be-named Senate counterparts to better secure our supply chains, create good-paying jobs across the country, invest in scientific innovation and revitalize American semiconductor manufacturing.” TechNet continued its call for Congress to remove the Stopping Harmful Offers on Platforms by Screening Against Fakes in E-commerce (Shop Safe) Act (see 2203080027) from the package.