GOP Reconciliation Opposition May Not Center on Broadband

House Commerce Committee Republicans are unlikely to make the $4 billion in broadband money included in committee Democrats’ portion of the Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package a centerpiece of their opposition to the measure but are expected to file at least some amendments to it, Capitol Hill aides and lobbyists told us. The legislation includes $10 billion for next-generation 911 tech upgrades, $1 billion to fund a new FTC privacy bureau and authorizes an FCC auction of at least 200 MHz of spectrum on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band, as expected (see 2109090067). House Commerce said it will begin marking up the measure at 11 a.m. EDT Monday in 2123 Rayburn.

The proposed $4 billion, to be available through the end of FY 2031, would supplement existing funding for the FCC’s emergency connectivity fund “regardless of whether” schools and libraries use it for broadband services and equipment “during a COVID-19 emergency period,” the legislation said. Senate Commerce Committee Democrats recently eyed seeking up to $10 billion in additional ECF via reconciliation (see 2109020072), but some advocates wanted another $40 billion for the program.

House Commerce Democrats decided against including any other broadband-specific money in its reconciliation measure, including trying to restore the full subsidy for an expanded version of the FCC emergency broadband benefit, because of a lack of appetite among caucus members, aides and lobbyists said. Lawmakers also considered fully restoring the subsidy a lower priority because there wasn't a major groundswell of stakeholder support, lobbyists said. The Senate passed its version of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684) with an extension of EBB that pares back the monthly subsidy to $30 from the current $50 (see 2108100062).

The Senate Commerce Democrats’ draft was more of a “placeholder” or a “projection” of what they would like to see on broadband and other priorities than a formal proposal because the amounts they sought exceeded the $83.1 billion the Senate allocated to the panel, Free Press Vice President-Policy Matt Wood told us. The “challenge now is not so much” seeking additional broadband money beyond what’s in HR-3684 as ensuring smart “implementation of what’s” in there. There didn’t appear to be enough “concrete ideas” proposed for some of the $35 billion Senate Commerce Democrats mentioned in their draft, so it’s not surprising much of it didn’t make it into actual legislation, he said. “The winnowing down” was “necessary and natural” due to that lack of clear legislative proposals.

The House Agriculture Committee hadn’t yet held a requested roll call vote Friday afternoon on an amendment from ranking member Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., to replace the committee’s proposed portion of the reconciliation package in part with the text of its Broadband Internet Connections for Rural America Act (HR-4374). The committee already rejected the proposal on a voice vote. HR-4374 would allocate $43 billion to Rural Utilities Service programs for FY 2022-29, including $4.5 billion in annual funding for the ReConnect program (see 2107140061).

“It’s disappointing” House Agriculture’s existing reconciliation measure doesn’t include any broadband money, Thompson said. “Now is the perfect opportunity” to enact HR-4374. House Agriculture Chairman David Scott, D-Ga., argued Thompson’s amendment “is designed to disrupt” the committee’s flow for advancing the reconciliation package. “It abuses the process” even if it’s well intended, Scott said.

NG-911

The NG-911 language in House Commerce’s legislation doesn’t make substantial changes to the existing NTIA-administered grant program or system upgrades, as expected (see 2108240058). It partially mirrors elements of the language included in the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s (Lift) America Act (HR-1848), albeit with compromise text agreed to by major stakeholder groups after a dispute earlier this year (see 2104080003). It bars recipients from diverting 911 fees and requires them to establish a “sustainable funding mechanism” within three years. It requires recipients to use “commonly accepted standards” but provides a far more generic definition for what that constitutes.

The measure would create a new 16-member Public Safety NG-911 Advisory Board within NTIA to make recommendations to the 911 Implementation Coordination Office (ICO) for managing the additional grants. The board would get $20 million through FY 2026. It would create an NG-911 Cybersecurity Center within ICO to “coordinate” with state and local entities on security matters, which would get $80 million through FY 2026.

Republicans are pleased with the NG-911 language, partly because Democrats set funding at $10 billion rather than the $15 billion envisioned in HR-1848, aides said. An earlier version of the NG-911 section House Commerce erroneously released Thursday set the funding at $12.7 billion. “This legislation would accelerate progress toward providing every American family and community with the best possible 9-1-1 service,” said National Emergency Number Association President Jennifer White in a statement.

The legislation would extend the FCC’s spectrum auction authority by seven years from the reconciliation package’s enactment. It allocates $50 million to NTIA to conduct “engineering studies, economic analyses, activities with respect to systems, or other planning activities to improve efficiency and effectiveness of Federal spectrum use” ahead of the 3.1-3.45 GHz auction. It requires the FCC to adopt rules by Nov. 30, 2024, to authorize sharing of parts of the band not included in the auction. The measure includes language from the Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhanced Networks Act (HR-4045) that directs the FCC to establish a Future of Telecommunications Council to provide recommendations on how to ensure U.S. leadership in developing standards for 6G and other wireless technologies (see 2106300077).

“You’re not going to see a single Republican support” House Commerce’s bill, but that opposition is likely to touch only marginally on the $4 billion in ECF money, a GOP-focused telecom lobbyist said. Republicans’ broadband commentary is expected to in part focus on FCC delays in finishing updated connectivity maps they believe need to be in place before enacting any further money, among other matters, lobbyists said. There will also likely be questions about the proposed FTC privacy bureau (see 2109100043), lobbyists said.

The House Science Committee voted down Thursday night a pair of tech-related amendments to its part of the reconciliation package. One, from ranking member Frank Lucas, R-Okla., would bar use of the National Science Foundation’s proposed $7.6 billion R&D funding in the reconciliation package to establish a “Directorate for Technology Innovation.” The other, from Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Texas, would allocate $600 million to implement federal semiconductor research Congress authorized via the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (see 2101030002).