GOP Split on Cantwell Spectrum Bill Seen Possible Ahead of Senate Commerce Markup

The Senate Commerce Committee will likely advance an amended version of the draft Spectrum and National Security Act during a Wednesday executive session with unanimous support from the panel’s 14 Democratic members, but lobbyists will watch closely how many Republicans don’t openly object to the measure as a means of determining its viability. The spectrum bill, led by Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., would restore the FCC’s lapsed auction mandate through Sept. 30, 2029. The measure proposes using future license sales revenue to repay a proposed loan to the commission to fund the affordable connectivity program in FY 2024 and $3.08 billion for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2404250061).

Cantwell is eyeing attaching spectrum bill language to the FAA Reauthorization Act that she and other congressional leaders reached a deal to advance Monday (see 2404290050), lobbyists told us. She hasn’t made a final decision on seeking the spectrum language’s attachment to the FAA bill and will use the outcome of the Wednesday panel as a guide, lobbyists said. Her success in moving ahead on the spectrum measure will depend on getting backing from at least nine Senate Republicans, assuming all 51 Democratic caucus members support the bid. Cantwell's office didn’t comment. Senate Commerce’s markup session will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.

Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz of Texas remains unlikely to back the Spectrum and National Security Act because its approach diverges so much from his alternative legislation, lobbyists told us. The Cruz-led 2024 Spectrum Pipeline Act (S-3909) would require NTIA to identify at least 2,500 MHz of midband spectrum the federal government can reallocate within the next five years (see 2403110066). Cantwell’s bill mandates only that the FCC sell licenses on the 12.7-13.25 GHz band but also has NTIA assessing the 7 GHz, 8 GHz and 37 GHz frequencies. Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota, an S-3909 co-sponsor, will also likely oppose the Spectrum and National Security Act Wednesday, lobbyists told us. Aides to Cruz and Thune didn’t comment.

Some House Commerce Committee leaders told us Cantwell doesn't yet have their backing for the Spectrum and National Security Act, which could prove crucial for its path forward. The panel moved on its now-stalled Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565) last year with Cantwell's blessing (see 2305240069). HR-3565 mirrors Cantwell’s bill in using airwaves sales revenue as payment for major telecom projects but doesn't address ACP. It also includes a proposed sale of spectrum on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band that drew the ire of DOD’s Capitol Hill backers (see 2306120058).

House Uncertainty

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, told us he's concerned about Cantwell's ACP funding proposal. “We've got to do something” about restoring the FCC's mandate, but Republicans will “have a problem” with simply loaning the FCC $7 billion for ACP without a clear sense of when the commission will generate enough spectrum auction revenue to pay it back, he said: “We talked from the start” about needing “to have a tangible pay-for in front of us, and we just don't have that right now.”

“As far as I know, [Cantwell] didn't consult with anyone on” House Commerce before introducing the Spectrum and National Security Act, said House Communications ranking member Doris Matsui, D-Calif. “I have to look at” the proposal, but “I think it's a good start.” Congress must “do something” to restore the FCC's lapsed authority and Cantwell's approach “seems to be fairly comprehensive,” Matsui told us. It would ensure “NTIA is really strong and that's what we want too.” She also praised the bill for including ACP stopgap money. Senate Commerce action on Cantwell’s bill “makes everything that we're talking about serious” and jump-starts the debate, Matsui said.

ACP Extension Act (HR-6929) lead sponsor Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., wants to “look at” the Spectrum and National Security Act as a potential marquee vehicle for allocating the broadband program stopgap funding. HR-6929, companion bill S-3565 and the Cantwell bill propose giving ACP $7 billion for FY24. “We're still where we were” in mid-April (see 2404170066) on a yet-to-be-opened discharge petition to force a House floor vote on HR-6929 (H Res. 1119), which doesn’t yet have the requisite level of GOP backing, Clarke said. “We're also looking for a vehicle” for passing ACP funding, but most of the available options right now are “Hail Marys at this stage.”

“There's a full-court press going on this week” encouraging Republicans to commit to the discharge petition, Clarke told us. That push included a Tuesday Public Knowledge-sponsored rally at a Washington, D.C., library that featured FCC Commissioners Anna Gomez and Geoffrey Starks, she said. Gomez urged Congress during the event “to act to extend the ACP so that millions of families do not lose this critical support for high-speed internet and so that we can continue to maintain U.S. economic leadership.” Starks emphasized that Tuesday was “the final day that enrolled households will receive their full program benefit.”

GOP Wild Cards?

Some other Senate Commerce Republicans are believed to be on the fence. For example, Cantwell’s office is lobbying Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, lobbyists told us. Cantwell hopes she can convince Fischer to at least not publicly oppose the measure and is eyeing language changes to get the Nebraska senator to back the measure, lobbyists said. S-3565 lead GOP co-sponsor Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio is monitoring Fischer's decision, which will guide his position on the Cantwell bill, lobbyists said. Aides to Fischer and Vance didn't comment.

Fischer, who’s also a Senate Armed Services Committee member, could be a gatekeeper to convincing that panel’s other GOP members to support the Spectrum and National Security Act based on it not mandating sales of DOD-controlled spectrum like the lower 3 GHz band, lobbyists said. There certainly could be “crossover” Armed Services GOP support for Cantwell's bill because it's “neutral on military spectrum,” said Michael Calabrese, New America Open Technology Institute's Wireless Future Project director. They could tacitly support the proposal because it contrasts sharply with S-3909’s “poison pill” language on the lower 3 GHz band, even if they aren’t thrilled with funding ACP.

Senate Armed Services ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi is another potential Commerce GOP wild card, lobbyists said. They noted Wicker as Senate Commerce ranking member in 2022 backed a spectrum legislative deal, which HR-3565 largely mirrors, that backers unsuccessfully attempted to include in the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus law (see 2212190069). Wicker is likely to decide on Cantwell’s bill independent of Fischer and other dual Armed Services-Commerce members, lobbyists said. Wicker's office didn't comment.

The Public Safety Next Generation 911 Coalition raised concerns Tuesday about the Spectrum and National Security Act’s proposal to allocate $2 billion in future auction revenues to pay for NG-911 tech upgrades. “We are concerned that the amount designated falls far below” the $15 billion needed to fully upgrade 911 systems, the coalition said. “We recognize that there are several priorities that lawmakers are seeking to achieve with spectrum auction proceeds,” but “modernizing the nation’s 50+ year old 9-1-1 networks is a national security priority.” HR-3565 proposed using auction proceeds to pay up to $14.8 billion for NG-911.