House FCC Hearing to Balance Talk of Reauth Bill Against Net Neutrality, Other Issues

The tone of the House Communications Subcommittee’s Tuesday FCC oversight hearing is likely to turn on the degree to which Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and other Republicans focus on Blackburn’s draft FCC reauthorization bill at the expense of other hot-button policy issues, communications sector lobbyists told us. House Democrats are likely to air pent-up grievances about controversial topics, particularly the May NPRM examining 2015 net neutrality rules and reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service, lobbyists said. Senate Commerce Committee Democrats repeatedly referenced their concerns about a potential rollback of the rules amid a confirmation hearing last week for Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner nominees Brendan Carr and Jessica Rosenworcel (see 1707190049). Pai and FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Mike O’Rielly are to testify at the hearing, which will begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

Lobbyists will be interested to see how Blackburn and other House Communications Republicans balance questions about the draft reauthorization bill against net neutrality and other agency-related issues. FCC reauthorization legislation has piqued telecom-focused Capitol Hill Republicans’ interest (see 1706120043). Blackburn’s draft incorporates many past proposals for FCC process overhauls, along with language to codify Pai's pilot project to make draft agenda items public three weeks before commissioners' meetings (see 1702020051), lobbyists said. The draft includes language to ax the media cross-ownership ban.

Blackburn told reporters Monday she believes House Communications has enough bandwidth to tackle FCC reauthorization along with the rest of its telecom policy objectives. The reauthorization bill will be an important part of the subcommittee's hearing but it won't be the predominant topic. “By the time everybody has their opportunity to ask questions, it will balance itself out,” she said. “It usually does.” Blackburn said during a Brookings Institution event there are plans to tackle an NTIA reauthorization bill plus legislation on next-generation 911, encryption and privacy after the House's August recess.

It “remains to be seen” whether the reauthorization bill has bipartisan support, a Democratic-leaning lobbyist said. The expert noted Blackburn had a key role advancing the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval that in March abolished FCC ISP privacy rules (see 1706070050). House Commerce Democrats have been reluctant to co-sponsor Blackburn’s Balancing the Rights of Web Surfers Equally and Responsibly Act (HR-2520) because of the ISP privacy CRA (see 1706280058).

Both parties are likely to address net neutrality to some degree, but House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and leading House Communications Democrats telegraphed their desire to make the NPRM a major focus during the oversight hearing (see 1707120017), lobbyists said. “I’d be bowled over if they decide to downplay it,” one industry lobbyist said. “I’m sure they won’t pass up this opportunity” to probe Pai on whether a rollback of the 2015 rules is a foregone conclusion, another lobbyist said.

House Commerce Democrats’ prehearing memo highlights their view that the existing rules "are designed to protect consumers, free expression, and innovation online” and notes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit 2016 ruling upholding the order (see 1606140023). House Commerce Republicans' memo noted USTelecom data “demonstrates a decrease in investment by broadband Internet service providers since” the 2015 rules. There's now a “growing recognition on both sides of the debate that with the prospect of continued challenges before the courts, legislative action could bring needed certainty,” the memo said.

House Communications Democrats may also focus on the FCC role in cybersecurity regulation, along with the privacy issue, lobbyists said. House Commerce Democrats sought to require the agency to strengthen its cybersecurity role amid a perceived agencywide shift on cybersecurity policy under Pai (see 1702060059 and 1703020035). House Commerce Democrats said they continue to believe the FCC's “congressional mandate to oversee commercial communications networks is an important component of a larger effort to protect our nation’s networks from malicious cyber-attacks.”

House Communications Republicans are likely to discuss media ownership rules, particularly in light of commissioners' 2-1 vote to reinstate the UHF discount, a GOP lobbyist said. The reauthorization draft's language to end the cross-ownership ban certainly would factor into any such discussion, the lobbyist said. A media ownership discussion also could provide ammunition to subcommittee Democrats, both because of the UHF discount and because of lingering concerns about whether President Donald Trump's administration is attempting to influence FCC reviews of media transactions, a Democratic lobbyist said. Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and David Price, D-N.C., are seeking co-sponsors for their Local and Independent Television Protection Act, which would end the UHF discount.

Both Republicans and Democrats may have an appetite to discuss the FCC Lifeline USF program, after GAO's June report on the programs' continued management “weaknesses” (see 1706290037), lobbyists said. House Communications Republicans said in their memo the report confirmed “long-standing concerns that waste, fraud, and abuse are rampant, and the FCC is failing in its administration and oversight of the program to safeguard the program’s integrity.” Committee Democrats said much of the investigation occurred before the FCC and USAC began their reforms, and the report relied on “old data.”