Senate Commerce Plans Wednesday Markup for FTC Authority Bill

The Senate Commerce Committee plans to mark up a Democratic bill Wednesday that would restore the FTC’s Section 13(b) authority to seek equitable monetary relief, as expected (see 2205030056). The Consumer Protection Remedies Act (S-4145), led by Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., would restore the 13(b) authority, which the Supreme Court stripped last year (see 2104220068). Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., signed on as co-sponsors. Cantwell initially sought GOP support for the bill (see 2106210054) with committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss. Also on the agenda: the Funding Affordable Internet with Reliable Contributions Act (S-2427) and the Network Equipment Transparency Act (S-3692). S-2427 would direct the FCC to study “the feasibility of funding Universal Service Fund through contributions supplied by edge providers” like Google-owned YouTube and Netflix (see 2107210067). S-3692 would require the FCC to determine as part of future Telecom Act Section 706 broadband deployment reports “whether a lack of network equipment significantly impacted the deployment of advanced telecommunications capability during the applicable year.” The markup begins at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.