National Security Last Sticking Point Delaying Senate Spectrum Package's Bipartisan Release

One final sticking point in squaring away a bipartisan Senate spectrum deal was national security, Senate Commerce Committee leaders told us Thursday. National security fears have hounded the Mobile Now spectrum package since Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., circulated drafts in November and provoked concerns from the Department of Defense and the Armed Services Committee about interference. Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has wanted to make sure the final product won’t endanger the country before affixing his name to the bill. They apparently reached a deal by Thursday evening, when the GOP Commerce Committee Twitter account released a photo of Mobile Now bill text listing both Thune and Nelson as backers.

“Yes,” Nelson, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, said in an interview Thursday when asked whether his reluctance to sign on involved earlier national security concerns that he and others have voiced. “We’re narrowing the differences,” Nelson said.

Thune said Tuesday he and Nelson would introduce the latest draft of Mobile Now together this week (see 1602090065) and told us Wednesday of a possible joint statement for himself and Nelson under preparation (see 1602100053). No draft or joint statement was released by our deadline, and Nelson has continued to say he’s not quite on board yet. In interviews this week he framed his sign-on as close and in the past emphasized the progress he feels is happening in resolving national security interference concerns, despite his reluctance to discuss the matter due to its sensitivity.

Nelson sounded the alarm over his national security concerns in November during a markup that Thune had initially hoped would include Mobile Now (see 1511180058). Communications Subcommittee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., is also a member of Armed Services and told us “particular bands” identified in earlier Mobile Now drafts were seen as a security fear, lauding Nelson for trying to resolve the concerns (see 1512100058). One section seen as provoking concern in the first two drafts was language that would apply spectrum sharing rules to the 3700-4200 MHz band, and Thune said there were concerns about the draft package’s aggressive spectrum goals (see 1512080064). The drafts had language saying the federal government must free up 50 MHz by 2024, though when asked about the recent draft, Thune said the latest version doesn't force such auctioning so much as sets a goal. Thune has said he wanted to address what he considered legitimate national security concerns from the administration. The Obama administration had provided what Thune considered final feedback and Thune staffers were incorporating the recommendations into a new and unreleased version, which staffers hope to mark up soon, potentially March 3.

Nelson “serves on all those committees, so he’s very circumspect about making sure all the t’s are crossed, the i’s are dotted,” Thune said in an interview about Nelson’s national security focus. “I think they wanted to take the last round of changes through the same loop in terms of getting input from those communities.” He said this means outreach to stakeholders. “This was kind of the last set of stuff,” Thune remarked. “We’re hoping to get the sign-offs, and we’ll be ready to go.” He said the administration has signed off on the spectrum package, citing the feedback incorporated into the latest version.

Thune had hesitated to say Thursday whether Mobile Now’s introduction will still be this week. “It’s his call at this point,” Thune told us, referring to Nelson. “We’re ready to go. … We’re there. And I talked to him yesterday, and he says he thinks they’re very close. But hopefully real close and not too long.”