Congress Eyes FY 2021, COVID-19 Aid Package With Connectivity Money

Both houses of Congress were expected to vote Monday night on the combined FY 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus bill (HR-133), after Hill leaders reached a deal on the measure, which includes $6.82 billion for broadband and a raft of other tech and telecom policy provisions. HR-133 also includes increases in annual funding for the FCC, FTC, NTIA and other agencies compared with FY 2020. The Senate was, meanwhile, set to hold a revote on invoking cloture on FCC inspector general nominee Chase Johnson after failing a first try Saturday.

Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., told us Sunday he was hopeful the chamber would try to again seek Johnson’s confirmation, saying a failed Saturday cloture vote was a missed opportunity. The chamber voted 39-48 on cloture for Johnson, with the full Democratic caucus in opposition. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also voted down cloture to allow himself to resurrect Johnson’s nomination later. A dozen Senate Republicans were absent from the chamber during the vote.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said during debate before the Saturday vote that the chamber was a “victim this afternoon of some absences.” He noted the “unanimous bipartisan vote” for Johnson at the committee level in May (see 2005200037).

Senate Commerce ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington cited her and other Democrats’ concerns about Johnson’s qualifications. “If we have an IG who does not understand communication policy, has no experience in communication policy, never had a role in that, I say we won’t accomplish the mission of” effective FCC oversight, Cantwell said. “We need an IG we can believe in.”

Broadband Bucks

HR-133 has more than $6.81 billion for broadband, including a $3.2 billion “emergency broadband benefit” to be spent during the pandemic. The broadband benefit was among the connectivity priorities Democrats sought during negotiations, lobbyists said. Democrats also secured $1 billion for tribal broadband grants and $300 million for an NTIA pilot to fund “covered partnerships” for broadband projects. Democrats weren’t able to attach an additional $3 billion for E-rate that was originally proposed earlier this month in the Bipartisan Emergency COVID Relief Act pandemic aid bill (see 2012150069).

Republican broadband priorities added to the package: $1.9 billion for the FCC to reimburse U.S. telecom companies that replace suspect network equipment under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998) and $65 million for Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act (S-1822) implementation. HR-133 also includes language from the Ensuring Network Security Act (S-4472) that would make providers of up to 10 million customers eligible for "rip and replace" funding (see 2008120030). HR-4998 originally limited the funding to cover companies with up to 2 million customers (see 2003040056). The measure still gives companies with up to 2 million customers the highest priority for rip and replace money.

The GOP secured an additional $250 million for the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth program, of which $50,000 will go to the FCC’s IG office to do oversight of the disbursal. Republicans also successfully attached the Connecting Minorities Act (S-4422) to create an Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives within NTIA and give it $100 million to give broadband grants to historically black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and universities, and Hispanic-serving institutions.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., praised the broadband funding, which is "essential for Americans seeking to get new jobs, and to access school, health care and other government services. Ensuring working families can stay online will pay massive dividends for kids' education, helping people find jobs and jump starting the economic recovery next year."

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai hailed the broadband and other connectivity money included in HR-133, some of which he’d personally sought (see 2003230066). The Secure and Trusted Communications Network Reimbursement Program established to disburse the rip and replace funding (see 2012100054) “will strengthen both network security and our national security,” Pai said. He praised lawmakers for adding T-band mandate repeal to the measure so the FCC “does not have to waste resources on a T-band auction that was bound to fail.”

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel also praised the measure, saying it’s “only a start, but it is important because it is the beginning of what needs to be a national effort to connect 100% of us to broadband.” Many other industry groups and officials hailed HR-133’s broadband funding, including: Common Cause, Free Press, Incompas; Public Knowledge, the Rural Wireless Association and Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy's Gigi Sohn.

T-Band, Other Language

HR-133 has language from a host of other tech and telecom measures, including the Don't Break Up the T-Band Act (HR-451) and Beat China by Harnessing Important, National Airwaves for 5G Act (S-4803), as expected. HR-451’s language includes text on 911 fee diversion. FY 2021 spending legislation was considered the best vehicle to address T-band mandate repeal before year-end (see 2009140020). S-4803 would require the FCC to begin an auction of the 3.45-3.55 GHz spectrum by Dec. 31, 2021.

The bill would expand local broadcasters’ and other news outlets’ eligibility to receive funding from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, a priority sought by NAB and other media advocates (see 2004090066). “These provisions, in addition to the bill’s second round of PPP funding for which many stations will also be eligible, help local broadcasters maintain their operations during this difficult time and continue to provide news and information critical to local communities as vaccine distribution commences across the country,” said NAB CEO Gordon Smith.

Other telecom measures’ language included in HR-133: the Advancing Critical Connectivity Expands Service, Small Business Resources, Opportunities, Access, and Data Based on Assessed Need and Demand Act (HR-1328/S-1046) and Broadband Interagency Coordination Act. S-1294’s language would direct the FCC, NTIA and Agriculture Department to sign a memorandum of understanding to coordinate on broadband funding, including considering “basing the distribution of funds for broadband deployment … on standardized” broadband coverage data (see 1905020058).

The bill includes the text of the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (Case) Act (HR-2426/S-1273) and Protecting Lawful Streaming Act. HR-2426/S-1273 would create a voluntary small claims board within the Copyright Office. Fight for the Future raised concerns about the measure’s inclusion in the omnibus (see 2012170077). The Protecting Lawful Streaming Act would make “large-scale criminal streaming services” liable for felonies but wouldn’t impact individual users who stream unauthorized copies of copyrighted works (see 2012100075). NAB praised the bill text’s inclusion in HR-133.

The omnibus would allocate $341 million to the FCC. That’s 9% less than the House included in its version of FY 2021 appropriations but less than 1% below what President Donald Trump’s administration proposed in February (see 2002100056). It’s less than 1% above what Congress allocated the FCC in FY 2020. The measure would appropriate $351 million for the FTC, more than 6% under what the House proposed, up 6% from what Trump wanted and up the same amount from FY '20.

It would provide $45.5 million to NTIA, essentially the same as what the House and Senate Appropriations committees earlier proposed (see 2011100041) but down almost 37% from what Trump wanted. It’s up almost 12% from FY '20. The Patent and Trademark Office would get $3.7 billion, the same as what the House, Senate Appropriations and Trump all sought. That’s up 7% from FY 2020. The National Institute of Standards and Technology would get just over $1 billion.

CPB would get $475 million beginning in FY 2023, compared with Trump’s proposal to zero out funding to the agency. It’s 2% more than CPB got in the FY '20 budget but 7% less than the $515 million the House and agency supporters sought (see 2002260025).

DOJ’s Antitrust Division would get $184.5 million, 2% less than Trump sought and more than 12% above what the division got in FY 2020. The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency would get just over $2 billion, almost 10% less than the House approved. That’s 15% more than the Trump administration sought and almost 7% more than the agency got in FY20.