House Panel Clears NTIA Reauthorization, Spectrum Fund Bills

The House Communications Subcommittee unanimously approved the NTIA Reauthorization Act (HR-4510), the Spectrum Relocation Enhancement Act (HR-3430) and two other telecom bills in a show of bipartisan cooperation Wednesday, promoting the authority of the NTIA (see 2307110079).

The other bills approved were amended versions of the AI Accountability Act (HR-3369), which directs NTIA to do a study on accountability measures for AI systems used by communications networks, and the DiasporaLink Act (HR-3385), which directs NTIA to submit a report to Congress on the feasibility of developing a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber cable connecting the U.S., the U.S. Virgin Islands, Ghana and Nigeria, aimed at improving network security. The subpanel examined draft versions during a May NTIA oversight hearing (see 2305230067).

The NTIA reauthorization bill would elevate the NTIA administrator from assistant secretary to undersecretary of Commerce. It would direct the NTIA to draft a national strategy to close the digital divide, improve coordination of federal spectrum, do a cybersecurity literacy campaign and provide technical assistance for open radio access networks.

NTIA would also be required to review federal receiver technology, building on a focus of the FCC (see 2304200040). The bill also includes language promoting incumbent informing capability, an advanced sharing system that has been a DOD and NTIA focus (see 2010160062). The bill sets NTIA’s annual appropriations at $62 million in both FY 2024 and FY 2025.

“This is an opportune time to reauthorize NTIA, something we had not done since 1992,” said subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio. “Today, NTIA plays a significant role in closing the digital divide, managing our nation’s spectrum and advocating United States communications positions on the world stage.” Congress recently gave NTIA $65 billion to address broadband deployment through the broadband, equity, access and deployment program and other programs and “this reauthorization is one way to ensure that NTIA has the tools it needs to effectively manage these programs,” Latta said.

Promoting the NTIA administrator “would underscore, in both the eyes of the public and other federal agencies, the role that NTIA plays in connecting all Americans,” said Latta, who sponsored the bill with subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui, D-Calif.

Since NTIA was reauthorized more than 30 years ago “the pace of technological innovation has accelerated exponentially,” Matsui said. The bill provides “new tools and authority to ensure the agency can keep up with the pace of innovation,” she said. Elevating the NTIA administrator reinforces “the statutory role” of the administrator “to speak on behalf of the federal government on important tech issues,” she said.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said one of her top priorities as chair of the full committee is to reauthorize agencies that fall under the committee’s jurisdiction. “Today’s NTIA plays a critical role in everything from broadband deployment and federal spectrum management, to internet governance and cybersecurity, issues not prevalent or even in existence when the agency was last reauthorized,” she said. The legislation firms up the role NTIA plays in settling spectrum disputes between agencies, which have “become more and more common in recent years,” she said.

“With the enormous responsibilities we give to NTIA through this legislation, it is critical that we not only reauthorize the agency, but also ensure that NTIA is fully funded for this upcoming fiscal year,” said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., ranking member of the full committee. Pallone noted the legislation wraps together several bills, some of which were started in the last Congress, when Democrats controlled the House.

Flexibility

HR-3430 would make changes to what relocation or sharing costs are eligible for reimbursement from the Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF) and alter how federal agencies receive payments from the program. The legislation would allow agencies to pay for enhanced capabilities, and not just comparable technology, when they move from a band. It would also give NTIA oversight over the SRF. It was sponsored by Matsui.

“While the fund has been successful it needs to be modernized,” Matsui said: “Outdated limitations … are holding it back. This bill addresses that.” By allowing agencies to replace their technology with enhanced capabilities they will be “better spectrum neighbors” and “have more incentive to participate with the fund,” she said.

The SRF “is an important tool to ensure that we can make more spectrum available for commercial use while also incentivizing federal agencies to use that spectrum more efficiently,” said Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas. It will mean making more spectrum “commercially available,” he said.

The amendment to the AI legislation is based on feedback from industry and other stakeholders and “improves the bill,” said Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif. “Enhancing the accountability of these systems is a meaningful step in reducing the risks that they pose to consumers and to society at large,” he said.

Pallone also hailed the AI bill. “While AI systems offer enormous potential, it is imperative that we have the tools to ensure they are designed with consumers in mind and to hold them accountable when they are not,” he said.