A Thursday reshuffle of Republican House Commerce Committee leaders didn’t affect the heads of the Communications and Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade subcommittees. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., retained the House Communications gavel, with Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., as vice chairman. Meanwhile, Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., will remain as CMT chairman, with Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, as vice chairman. The House Commerce reshuffle, instigated after Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., resigned as Health Subcommittee chairman, resulted in Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla., becoming committee vice chairman. It also had Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., leaving House Communications and Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., rejoining the subpanel.
The House on Thursday narrowly passed the Senate-cleared version of the HR-1 budget reconciliation package, previously known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (see 2507010070). Passage came after a marathon all-night session, during which most Republicans who had previously resisted backing the measure ultimately voted for it amid pressure and cajoling from GOP leadership and President Donald Trump. The lower chamber approved HR-1 218-214, with only two Republicans joining all 212 Democrats in opposition.
House Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., told us Wednesday that he expects the Commerce Committee to mark up his AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-979) in July, before Congress begins its month-plus August recess. HR-979 and Senate companion S-315 would require the Department of Transportation to mandate AM radio technology's inclusion in future automobiles, mostly affecting electric vehicles. The Senate Commerce Committee advanced a revised version of S-315 in February with the addition of a 10-year sunset for the measure, which led Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., to drop his previous opposition to its passage (see 2502100072). Bilirakis cautioned that House Commerce leaders haven't given him an ironclad commitment they will bring up HR-979 this month but added that he has gotten “very positive feedback” it will happen.
Senate GOP aides said Friday afternoon that chamber leaders aimed to hold an initial vote Saturday on a motion to proceed to the chamber’s combined budget reconciliation package, which includes the Commerce Committee’s revised proposal for an 800 MHz spectrum pipeline and restoration of the FCC’s lapsed auction authority through Sept. 30, 2034 (see 2506060029). Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, secured backing last week for the spectrum proposal from a pair of Armed Services Republicans after he strengthened the original proposal’s carve-outs excluding the 3.1-3.45 GHz and 7.4-8.4 GHz bands from potential FCC auction or other reallocation (see 2506250054).
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., called Thursday for the federal government to “ban cellphones in every K-12 classroom in America,” reflecting similar recent state-level pushes to bar students from using smartphones and other mobile devices in school (see 2501290066). Slotkin and Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., last week filed the Restoring Our Educational Focus on Children of U.S. Servicemembers at DOD Education Activity (DODEA) Act to bar students at K-12 schools on U.S. military bases from using cellphones during school hours.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina led a Wednesday letter with 46 other congressional Democrats, pressing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to reverse NTIA's rewrite of rules for its $42.5 billion BEAD program (see 2506060052). Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz of Texas and other Republicans have praised the BEAD rewrite (see 2506100071), while Democrats argue NTIA's requirement that jurisdictions resubmit their plans for reexamination will further delay the funding rollout. Senate Commerce ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., were among others who signed the letter.
The House on Monday passed by voice vote HR-1737, which would direct NTIA to submit a report to Congress on the feasibility of developing a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber cable connecting the U.S., the U.S. Virgin Islands, Ghana and Nigeria. The House previously cleared the measure during the last Congress as the DiasporaLink Act. The House Commerce Committee advanced HR-1737 in March (see 2503040063). House Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., hailed passage of HR-1737 and seven other bills.
NAB publicized Monday that the number of sponsors for the House version of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-979) reached 218, meaning a majority of the chamber formally backs the measure. H-979 and its Senate Commerce Committee-cleared companion, S-315, would require the Department of Transportation to mandate the inclusion of AM radios in future automobiles, mostly affecting electric vehicles (see 2502100072). S-315 has 61 sponsors, above the chamber’s legislative cloture threshold. The figure in each chamber marks “a pivotal milestone … and underscores AM radio’s enduring value to the American people,” said NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt.
The House is set to vote as soon as Monday night on HR-1737, which would direct NTIA to submit a report to Congress on the feasibility of developing a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber cable connecting the U.S., the U.S. Virgin Islands, Ghana and Nigeria. The House previously passed the measure during the last Congress as the DiasporaLink Act. The House Commerce Committee advanced HR-1737 in March (see 2503040063).
Nextlink Internet Chief Strategy Officer Claude Aiken and 23 officials from other Texas-based WISPA member companies urged the state's GOP senators, Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, to “consider the importance of shared spectrum, particularly” the 3550-3650 MHz citizens broadband radio service band, as the chamber moves forward on a budget reconciliation package that Republicans want to include airwaves legislative language. Cruz led a Senate Commerce reconciliation proposal for an 800 MHz pipeline of reallocated spectrum that would exclude some DOD-controlled bands but doesn't address CBRS (see 2506060029).