Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned Wednesday that a provision in the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (S-2296) would give the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman authority to veto commercial use of the lower 3 and 7/8 GHz bands. Cruz told an NTIA spectrum symposium (see 2509100051) that he will fight that provision in Section 1564 of the bill. “To be clear, this is not consultation or collaboration on spectrum management,” Cruz said.

House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui of California and other Democrats used a Tuesday subpanel hearing on public safety communications issues (see 2509090062) as a forum to again lambaste Republicans for rescinding CPB’s FY 2026 and FY 2027 funding. CPB supporters unsuccessfully argued in July against Congress rescinding the money by citing public broadcasters’ role in transmitting emergency alerts (see 2507090062).

Two top House Commerce Committee members filed a pair of bills Monday aimed at increasing the reliability of U.S. emergency communications networks. House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., refiled the Emergency Reporting Act and introduced the Kari’s Law Reporting Act. The Emergency Reporting Act would direct the FCC to issue reports and do field hearings after activating the disaster information reporting system. The Kari’s Law Reporting Act would mandate that the FCC report on the extent to which multi-line telephone system manufacturers and vendors are complying with the 2018 Kari’s Law requirement that such systems give direct access to 911 without the need to dial a prefix.

The House Appropriations Committee said Friday it plans to vote this week on FY 2026 funding bills covering NTIA and other Commerce Department agencies and omit further allocations for CPB. The panel will vote Tuesday on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee’s funding bill, which lacks language to restore any of the $1.1 billion in federal money for CPB that Congress clawed back in July via the 2025 Rescissions Act (see 2509030065). The meeting will begin at 11 a.m. in 2359 Rayburn.

Sen. Ron Wyden. D-Ore., hailed news Wednesday that YouTube and Hulu will begin including C-SPAN in their virtual MVPD channel lineups. Wyden and Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., urged both platforms and FuboTV in January to add C-SPAN (see 2501220052). “I’m glad YouTube and Hulu decided to do the right thing and support C-SPAN, one of the most reliable and non-partisan sources of information about what the government is up to,” Wyden said. “C-SPAN is a refreshing antidote to the poisonous partisanship that has come to dominate much of the news.” He urged “more media companies to support greater news literacy and access to the government, to inform the public and strengthen our democracy.”

The House Communications Subcommittee has rescheduled a hearing on public safety communications issues for 10:15 a.m. Sept. 9 in 2123 Rayburn, the Commerce Committee said Tuesday. The subpanel originally planned to hold the hearing in July. I. “Our public safety community requires reliable communications to respond adequately during an emergency,” said House Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Communications Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C. “We look forward to considering ways to strengthen our public safety communications to better serve Americans in their moments of crisis.”

The House on Tuesday night passed the Undersea Cable Control Act (HR-2503) on a voice vote, as expected (see 2508290061). The measure would require the State Department to develop a strategy to block China and other “foreign adversaries” from buying goods and technologies to build, maintain or operate undersea cables. The House passed a similar version of the measure during the last Congress (see 2303280060).

NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth said she joined Senate Public Works Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and others at a meeting Thursday in White Sulphur Springs on connectivity issues in West Virginia. Roth noted the Commerce Department’s review of states’ resubmitted plans for spending their funding from the $42.5 billion BEAD program. “After years of delays by the Biden administration, NTIA is proud to be moving forward on the BEAD program and delivering the ‘Benefit of the Bargain’ for Americans,” Roth said.

The House plans to vote as soon as Tuesday night on the Undersea Cable Control Act (HR-2503) under suspension of the rules. The measure would require the State Department to develop a strategy to block China and other “foreign adversaries” from buying goods and technologies to build, maintain or operate undersea cables. The House passed a similar version of the measure during the last Congress (see 2303280060).

The House Appropriations Committee said Thursday night that it plans to vote Wednesday on the Financial Services Subcommittee’s FY 2026 funding bill, which proposes to maintain the FCC’s annual funding at $390.2 million (see 2507210064). Financial Services advanced the measure in June with a set of riders that would bar the agency from using money to enforce certain policies that originated during the Biden administration and have been in Republicans’ crosshairs, including its 2024 digital discrimination order (see 2507220057). The markup session will begin at 10:30 a.m. in 2359 Rayburn.