Schatz Says He 'Probably' Won't Stay Lead Senate Communications Democrat

Senate Communications Subcommittee lead Democrat Brian Schatz of Hawaii confirmed to us he’s “probably” going to give up an opportunity to chair the subpanel in this Congress to retain other leadership roles, as expected (see 2101190001). That makes it all but certain that Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., will take over the Communications gavel, lawmakers and lobbyists said. Democrats will have to wait to formally take control of Senate Communications and other panels until leaders finalize a power-sharing agreement to handle the 50-50 chamber.

Schatz said he’s likely to relinquish his Communications leadership role because of the Democratic caucus’ “two maximum gavel rule,” and he's prioritizing keeping his impending chairmanship of the Indian Affairs Committee and leading the Appropriations Military Construction Subcommittee. The Democratic caucus also passed a rule in December barring its party’s top members on high-level committees from leading a subcommittee, too, unless all other members pass on the role. Some lobbyists believed that would itself necessitate a leadership shift. Schatz has been lead Communications Democrat since 2015, after previous Chairman Mark Pryor of Arkansas lost his 2014 reelection bid (see 1501200050).

Schatz and lead Communications Republican John Thune of South Dakota cited widespread expectations that Markey will take over the subcommittee gavel but told us they haven't received confirmation. Subcommittee chairmanships may be announced at a planned Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee organizational meeting (see 2101270062), Capitol Hill aides said. That depends on whether Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., cement the power-sharing agreement by then, aides said.

Markey told us he’s “not in a position” to comment on whether he’s in contention for the chairmanship. Markey could again be in a top role on telecom policymaking after an earlier 22-year stint as House Communications lead Democrat. Markey relinquished the chair in 2009 (see 0901090132) and remains active on telecom and tech policy.

Senate Commerce lead Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington wouldn’t say whether Markey will become Communications chairman. Schatz and Markey are both “very talented” on telecom and tech policy issues, so “I’d be glad to have either one of them in that spot,” she said. The subpanel leaders play a significant role in policymaking, but Cantwell would remain in control of the committee’s agenda, lobbyists said. As House Communications chairman, Markey had wide latitude to schedule hearings on issues in the subcommittee’s bailiwick, but he would face more constraints leading the Senate tech-telecom body, lobbyists said.

“I’ll miss” Schatz as lead Communications Democrat, Thune told us. He’s “great to work with,” but “I’ve worked with [Markey] in the past, too,” including on the now-enacted Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act (see 1912310028). “I look forward to working with” Markey if he’s chosen, “and hopefully we’ll pick up on some of the same issues,” Thune said.

“I’ll continue to work with” Schatz on ongoing projects the two had “in the works,” including refiling a version of their Communications Decency Act Section 230 revamp measure, the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (Pact) Act (see 2006240059), Thune said. “That issue is going to be around,” and the Pact Act is bipartisan, “very balanced and could actually get done.”

Officials expect Schatz will remain active on tech and telecom regardless. He led filing Friday of the Safe Connections Act to require the FCC to establish rules that ensure calls and texts to domestic abuse hotlines don’t appear on call logs. It would let domestic abuse survivors separate a mobile phone line from any shared plan involving their abusers without penalties or other requirements and require the FCC to seek comment on how to help survivors enroll in the Lifeline program for up to six months.

Markey told us he’s eyeing Senate-side reintroduction of the Save the Internet Act, which sought to restore FCC 2015 net neutrality rules and reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service (see 1904100062). “I’m going to be looking at all options” for restoring those rules, he said.

“We think net neutrality is a big priority for the nation,” Cantwell said. “We want consumers to make sure that they’re not unfairly gouged on any kind of pricing just because somebody’s trying to set up … broadband rates that are unfair to what we think is important for development of a very basic service.”

Markey's philosophy is, "What does this mean for the average consumer?” said telecom consultant Larry Irving, a former aide to Markey when he chaired House Communications. “Digital divide, remote learning, telehealth, polarization of media -- those are all things consumers care about. And they’re all things that [Markey] has a proven track record of helping resolve."