House Appropriations Advances FY 2022 FCC, FTC Funding 33-24

The House Appropriations Committee voted 33-24 Tuesday to advance its FY 2022 funding bill for the FCC and FTC. The measure proposes giving the FCC $388 million and the FTC almost $390 million, mirroring what President Joe Biden proposed in late May (see 2105280055). A report on the legislation seeks further work on changes to USF contribution rules and wants additional study of how municipal broadband can expand connectivity access (see 2106290066). The committee approved an amendment to the bill from Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, that would bar funding for government cloud computing unless the cloud services don't store or transmit images depicting violations of child exploitation law.