Spectrum, Caller ID Bills Pass House Commerce

The House Commerce Committee unanimously approved an amended spectrum inventory bill (HR-3125) with stronger national security protection. The panel also Wednesday unanimously approved a bill (HR-3019) by Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., that would streamline moving federal users off bands to be reviewed by a three-member technical panel reporting to the agencies. And the committee approved without objection an amended Caller ID spoofing bill (HR-1258) by Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., that would ban manipulation of Caller ID information. All three bills were reported to the full House.

Democratic and Republican committee leaders applauded bipartisan work on all three bills. “It’s good to have a markup where we haven’t been up all night killing trees creating amendments that cause problems,” said Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas. “We appreciate the cooperation.” Inslee suggested declaring “a national day of celebration because we actually have a bipartisan bill that helps government work better."

The inventory bill, sponsored by Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is similar to legislation in the Senate (S-649) by Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., which awaits a vote by the full Senate. Wednesday’s manager’s amendment tackles concerns identified by the Obama administration earlier this week, Waxman said. The larger national security section reflects “extensive bipartisan consultation with the defense and intelligence communities,” he said. The amended bill lets heads of affected federal agencies weigh in on whether release of certain spectrum, including that held by non-federal licensees but used for an important national security purpose, would hurt homeland security. The amendment also requires the NTIA and FCC to consult with the National Security Council to review aggregate information collected before any public release.

The amended bill still requires an inventory of spectrum between 225 MHz and 3.7 GHz unless the NTIA and FCC opt to go up to 10 GHz, but clarifies that the extension could only occur if the agencies determine the benefits outweigh the burden of expanding the inventory. “The agencies would be required to explain why in their view the benefit does not outweigh the costs if on three successive occasions the agencies decide not to extend the inventory all the way to 10 GHz,” said Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., who offered the amendment.

The amendment gives the FCC and NTIA two years after the bill’s enactment to issue their first inventory report, versus a year in the last version. As before, the agencies would be required to submit the report every two years thereafter. The amended bill also would require the agencies to produce within four years, and every four years thereafter, a report including a recommendation on which spectrum, if any, should be reallocated or otherwise made available for shared access. The agencies would have had to do the report every two years under the previous version of the bill.

While Inslee’s spectrum relocation bill passed with no amendments, Waxman said more work is needed to address several national security concerns highlighted by the Obama administration. Before the legislation passes the full House, “we will need to address whether the agencies have adequate resources to plan properly for relocation once suitable spectrum has been identified,” he said. Congress also needs to “consider whether agencies have the ability to upgrade their capabilities as part of a relocation process,” he said. And it needs to “improve the so-called ‘early entry’ process to ensure that auction winners and the agencies have more certainty regarding timing and process."

A manager’s amendment to the Caller ID bill adds “spoofing with the intent to deceive to the list of conduct that is prohibited under the legislation,” Boucher said. “That clarification ensures that the measure encompasses deceptive activity whether or not there is an intent on the part of the perpetrator to cause harm.” The spoofing bill is similar to legislation passed last month by the Senate (S-30).

CTIA praised the committee’s action on the spectrum bills. “As we have said many times before, spectrum is our industry’s backbone which fuels the ‘virtuous cycle’ of innovation,” said President Steve Largent. “By identifying current spectrum users and expeditiously relocating them to other bandwidths, the Committee is ensuring” our country’s wireless industry “remains the world’s most competitive and innovative.”