CTIA urged the House on Sunday to advance the One Big Beautiful Bill Act budget reconciliation package as chamber leaders geared up to advance the measure, despite continued doubts that it has enough support within the razor-thin Republican majority to pass as currently written. The House Budget Committee voted 17-16 Sunday night to advance the combined reconciliation measure, which includes Commerce Committee-cleared spectrum language (see 2505140062). House Budget voted down the package Friday, throwing into doubt Republican leaders’ goal of passing it on the floor before the lower chamber is scheduled to begin its Memorial Day recess later this week (see 2505160062). “The wireless industry urges swift passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” said CTIA CEO Ajit Pai. “The critical spectrum and tax provisions in this legislation will allow the wireless industry to invest, create jobs, propel economic growth, and secure America’s edge in innovation.” The White House highlighted Pai’s statement in a Monday news release about private sector support for the reconciliation measure.
The House Budget Committee voted 21-16 Friday against advancing Republicans’ combined “One Big, Beautiful Bill” budget reconciliation measure, which includes Commerce Committee-cleared spectrum language (see 2505140062). House Commerce's measure would restore the FCC's lapsed auction authority through the end of FY 2034 and requires the commission to sell at least 600 MHz of reallocated airwaves within six years (see 2505120058). Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz of Texas and some other Republicans are eyeing alternative spectrum language (see 2505130059).
The Senate Commerce Committee said Wednesday night it plans a May 21 vote on the Network Equipment Transparency Act (S-503). The measure would direct the FCC to report every two years on the impact 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 will also consider advancing Commerce Department general counsel nominee Pierre Gentin, who faced heat from Democratic senators Tuesday over President Donald Trump’s move to block Digital Equity Act funding (see 2505090051). Senate Commerce’s meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., criticized President Donald Trump on Wednesday for blocking Digital Equity Act funding last week (see 2505090051). Two top Senate Commerce Committee Democrats pressed Commerce Department general counsel nominee Pierre Gentin on the matter during his Tuesday confirmation hearing (see 2505130072).
Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., grilled Commerce Department general counsel nominee Pierre Gentin on Tuesday about President Donald Trump’s move last week to block Digital Equity Act funding (see 2505090051).
Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas and 21 other Republican senators are urging the FCC to “modernize [its] broadcast ownership rules to enable broadcasters to compete with today's media giants.” Broadcasters doubled down in late April on calls for station ownership deregulation as part of the FCC’s “Delete” docket (see 2504290054).
House Democrats are raising conflict-of-interest questions regarding SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk. In a letter Tuesday to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro, the lawmakers said Musk's role as head of the Department of Governmental Efficiency conflicts with SpaceX's role as a government contractor, given the influence DOGE has over agencies' contracts and contract bids. They said there's also a conflict of interest regarding DOGE's influence over regulators that oversee SpaceX. They called for a probe of whether SpaceX has received or could get special treatment due to Musk's role in the Trump administration. There also are questions about whether SpaceX used offshore accounts to mask the identities of Chinese investors, the lawmakers said.
The House China Committee urged the FCC on Wednesday to add Chinese company Unitree Robotics to its covered entities list to block its equipment’s use on U.S. telecom infrastructure. Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and other panel members cited Unitree’s “well-documented ties to [China’s People’s Liberation Army]-affiliated institutions and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) entities. Reporting indicates that Unitree has participated in military-civil fusion programs, received [Chinese] state funding, contributed to defense research, and produces robotic systems with clear military utility -- including autonomous mobility, surveillance, and payload capabilities.”
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, this week urged the wireless industry to rally behind his push to make a spectrum title part of the budget reconciliation package before Congress. Cruz was among the last of the speakers at CTIA’s 5G Summit on Tuesday (see 2505060036).
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, questioned Tuesday whether the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act (SBA), which granted the NFL and other professional sports leagues antitrust immunity to negotiate nationwide broadcast rights, is still fulfilling its “intended goals,” given fans’ frustration with fragmented access to games. “The shift to streaming isn’t just frustrating -- it can be expensive,” Cruz said during a committee hearing. “Between league-specific packages and games behind different streaming paywalls, it can cost hundreds of dollars a year for a hardcore fan wanting to watch all of a league’s games.”