House Communications Advances C-Band Bill, Resilient Networks Act

The House Communications Subcommittee advanced the Clearing Broad Airwaves for New Deployment (C-Band) Act (HR-4855) and 10 other measures Tuesday on voice votes, as expected (see 2003090070). The timeline for the House Commerce Committee to mark up any of those measures remains uncertain, because of negotiations aimed at reaching a bipartisan deal on HR-4855 and other measures that have gotten GOP pushback and broader questions about Congress’ schedule given the spread of coronavirus.

A House Commerce markup of HR-4855 and the other approved bills is unlikely any time “soon,” House Communications Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., told reporters. “So many things are up in the air because of the coronavirus” and much will depend on “what our leadership decides to do” about the House’s schedule in the coming weeks. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is thus far ruling out extending an upcoming recess or otherwise altering the chamber’s schedule in response to the outbreak, despite calls from Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and some others.

Doyle and House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., repeatedly pointed to the current iteration of HR-4855 as a “placeholder” for final legislative language they are negotiating with committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., and others. HR-4855 would allocate most proceeds from the FCC’s upcoming auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band to fund telecom projects (see 1910240046). The Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee also touched on the debate over how to legislate on C-band issues during a Tuesday hearing on the commission’s FY 2021 budget request (see 2003100022).

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us he’s “very open to suggestions” on a legislative compromise between his 5G Spectrum Act (S-2881) and Democratic-led C-band proposals. S-2881 would set a graduated scale for amounts the FCC would be required to return to the Treasury from C-band proceeds, beginning with “not less than 50 percent” of the first $40 billion. “The better approach would be for the elected representatives of the people to speak on this issue rather than regulatory agencies,” Wicker said. “I don’t find myself optimistic at this point” that a legislative compromise is achievable, but “I’ll look at” HR-4855 if the House passes it.

“I hope that we will find a bipartisan solution, but one way or another Congress must ensure the American people benefit from the public airwaves and not just foreign satellite operators” currently occupying the C band, Pallone said. The C-band spectrum the FCC will auction off beginning Dec. 8 remains Congress’ “best chance” to fund “essential priorities” like rural broadband deployments and next-generation 911 technology upgrades “for the foreseeable future,” Doyle said. It also “gives us the opportunity to equip the FCC with the legal authority it needs to conduct this auction without the uncertainty of using novel methods or treading through murky legal waters.”

Walden noted his continued interest in working on a bipartisan compromise. He’s frustrated and “worried” about how the legislative timeline has “slipped” in recent months. “We’d hoped to” be nearing a C-band legislative deal “last fall and could have been ahead of the FCC and their final decision” on auction plans, he said. “Even upon returning” in January from the end-of-year recess, “our teams talked,” but House Commerce leaders placed other legislative priorities ahead of a C-band deal. Walden and House Communications ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, said they don’t want legislation to cause delays to the FCC’s current auction timeline. "It appears we will be frantically negotiating between the subcommittee and the full committee markup to cobble together bipartisan legislation," Latta said. Lawmakers shouldn't be negotiating by "least common denominator."

The National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures and other state and local government groups urged Congress Tuesday to “take advantage of the opportunity to leverage” the upcoming C-band auction “for a large-scale expansion and upgrade of broadband across communities.” The auction “presents a unique opportunity to invest in closing the digital divide without creating a new cost burden for the federal government, and while still accommodating the needs of the current users,” the groups said. “If Congress acts, state and local governments must be partners in determining the allocation of funds.” The other groups are the Council of State Governments, National League of Cities and U.S. Conference of Mayors.

GOP Objections

Walden noted concerns about the Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure and Emergency Notification for Today’s (Resilient) Networks Act (HR-5926), but he didn’t object to House Communications advancing it to the full committee. HR-5926 would require the FCC do rulemakings on improving coordination among communications providers and with public safety answering points during emergencies. Pallone, the bill’s lead sponsor, noted “we haven’t yet reached bipartisan agreement, but “I look forward to continuing the ongoing conversations as we move to full committee.”

“With the right approach and more time, we can find a bipartisan consensus on how to address” the network resiliency issues HR-5926 aims to solve, Walden said. “Before we can support such important legislation, members and the public need to fully understand the approach taken under this legislation to restore communications networks during emergencies, the scope of what it entails, and the impact it could have.” House Commerce needs to “hear from the agencies before placing new burdens on them and expanding jurisdiction,” he said. “We should have a hearing with a full complement of witnesses who can share more than a partial picture.”

Walden objected to a revised version of the Preserving Home and Office Numbers in Emergencies Act (HR-1289) advanced Tuesday. He's concerned it needs further revisions and clarifications. The bill would restrict reassignment of phone numbers during a declared natural disaster except at a subscriber’s request. Walden believes even the revised HR-1289 text isn’t entirely clear and questioned whether subscribers could seek a number reassignment waiver if there’s a federal disaster declaration in a state because of the coronavirus outbreak. Walden and Rep. Pete Olson, R-Texas, voice voted against a substitute version of HR-1289. Latta hopes to reach a consensus on the measure before a House Commerce markup.

Walden wants further technical revisions to the Enhancing Broadcaster Diversity and Inclusion by Verifying and Ensuring the Reporting required by Statute is Transpiring and Yielding Data Act (HR-5564) before it goes through a House Commerce markup. The bill would require the FCC to complete its equal employment opportunity enforcement NPRM (see 1904290176). Walden and others questioned whether a revised version of HR-5564 would prevent the FCC from requiring broadcasters to observe quotas for hiring women and persons of color, something they argued the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals declared unconstitutional in 2001.

Bipartisanship

There was more bipartisan agreement on advancing other measures, including the Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act (HR-451), Expanding Broadcast Ownership Opportunities Act (HR-3957) and National Suicide Hotline Designation Act (HR-4194). HR-451 would repeal a provision of the 2012 spectrum law that mandates public safety move off the 470-512 MHz T band by 2021. HR-3957 would restore the minority tax certificate and direct the FCC to make recommendations on ways to improve ownership diversity. House Communications approved a substitute version of HR-4194, which would designate 988 the suicide prevention hotline number (see 1908200070).

Walden successfully attached language from his Fee Integrity and Responsibilities and To Regain Essential Spectrum for Public-safety Operators Needed to Deploy Equipment Reliably (First Responders) Act (HR-5928) to HR-451 that would address state-level 911 fee diversion. Doyle and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., backed attaching the HR-5928 language to HR-451. Lead sponsor Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and others urged Congress to pass the measure during a Tuesday news conference.

Walden ultimately withdrew a proposed amendment to HR-3957 that would have restored language to the bill to require the FCC to set up an incubator program. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., said he jettisoned the incubator language from the revised version of the bill approved Tuesday because the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the FCC’s existing incubator program in its Prometheus IV ruling. Walden hopes to address the issue before a House Commerce markup.

Also cleared Tuesday: House Resolution 549, the Measuring the Economics Driving Investments and Access for Diversity Act (HR-5567), Emergency Reporting Act (HR-5918) and Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement Act (HR-6096). HR-5918 would direct the FCC to issue reports after activating the disaster information reporting system and to make improvements to network outage reporting. Eshoo and Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., said they've reached an agreement in principle on revisions to the measure they plan to offer at a House Commerce markup.