Witnesses Back Dozen House Communications Bills

Witnesses praise a dozen communications-focused bills set to be the focus of a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing, in written testimony. The subpanel intends the dozen bills, including the Spectrum Coordination Act (HR-2501) and Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-5378), to highlight bipartisan cooperation on the House Commerce Committee, lobbyists said. At least one witness backs the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684) and parts of the Democratic-sought budget reconciliation package, which could inject talk of the fracas over the timeline for considering those measures into the hearing, lobbyists said.

Loveland, Colorado, Council Member John Fogle (R) backs HR-3684 and the House Commerce-advanced portion of the Build Better Act reconciliation package (see 2109140063), which both contain broadband money. “The funding made available through” the American Rescue Plan Act aid package earlier this year “has bolstered” investments in “locally driven broadband leadership” and “funding for digital equity, anchor institutions, and middle-mile broadband infrastructure” in HR-3684 and the reconciliation bill “will continue this effort,” Fogle says. He will testify on behalf of the National League of Cities; he chairs its Information Technology and Communications Committee.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., signaled Tuesday he’s open to considering a measure that spends $1.9 trillion to $2.2 trillion, a figure President Joe Biden proposed and above the $1.5 trillion threshold Manchin set last week (see 2110010001). “I’m not ruling anything out, but the bottom line is I want to be strategic, to do the right job, and we don't basically add more to the concerns we have right now,” he told reporters. Congressional Democratic leaders delayed the deadline for passing HR-3684 to Oct. 31 amid Democratic infighting over whether to pass that bill before there’s a reconciliation deal (see 2110040065).

Congress should "consider funding broadband planning and capacity-building efforts at the local level,” Fogle says. He backs the Community Broadband Act (HR-1631) and other bills that would remove “unnecessary barriers” to local investment “and allow cities, towns and villages to make their own decisions and investments.” HR-1631 and companion S-1460 would guarantee municipalities and other local governments retain the right to build networks (see 2103090061).

HR-1631 isn’t among the dozen bills the hearing is supposed to focus on. Four others up for discussion aim to address barriers in federal communications siting review processes: the Federal Broadband Deployment in Unserved Areas Act (HR-1046), Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act (HR-1049), Wireless Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act (HR-1058) and Broadband Incentives for Communities Act (HR-5058). Competitive Carriers Association Senior Vice President-Legislative Affairs Tim Donovan backs all four measures, along with HR-2501 and HR-5378.

“Congress should continue to support streamlining the permitting process and removing unnecessary or redundant barriers to deployment,” Donovan says: That “need not pit carriers against states and municipalities.” Significant resources are being dedicated to expanding broadband connections in unserved and underserved communities, he said. “Additional resources” should also “be provided appropriately to facilitate expansion and strengthening of services, especially 5.”

PocketiNet Communications President Todd Brandenburg doesn’t mention specific legislation and believes existing “local and state permitting authorities do not have any sense of urgency to process applications in a timely manner.” One “of our biggest challenges that we face is timely permitting for towers as well as right of way applications for fiber optics and pole permitting,” he says. “We seek to have a single point of contact and a shot clock to timely review and prioritization of broadband infrastructure applications.”

Brandenburg criticizes proposals to provide funding to municipal broadband networks and advises Commerce to “carefully consider enabling local governments with grant funds to compete directly with” companies. Some ISP “are willing to make an investment in rural areas especially if these grant funds are allocated directly to service providers,” he said.

United Church of Christ Policy Adviser Cheryl Leanza backs the Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act (HR-2489) and Communications Act Section 331 Obligation Clarification Act (HR-4208). HR-2489, which would bar communications providers from receiving site commissions earned by prisons and other confinement facilities, “will quickly bring down rates” that now are as much $1 per minute and “far in excess of what any of us on the outside pay today,” Leanza says. HR-4208 would amend Communications Act Section 331 to allow the FCC to reallocate a UHF or VHF station to a state lacking such broadcasters. Leanza also backs the Data Mapping to Save Mom’s Lives Act (HR-1218) and Preventing Disruptions to USF Act (HR-5400).