Legislative Activity House Approves FY 2017 Appropriations Bill Decreasing FCC’s Budget On July 7, the U.S. House of Representatives (House) passed H.R.5485, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill, 2017 containing appropriations for fiscal year (FY) 2017. The $21.7 billion funding measure contains appropriations for various federal agencies for the fiscal year ending September … Continue Reading
Regulatory Activity D.C. Circuit Rules 2-1 to Uphold FCC Net Neutrality Rules On June 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) in a 2-1 decision upheld the FCC’s “net neutrality” rules applicable to providers of broadband Internet access service (BIAS), which were released in a March 12, 2015 Report and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Lawmakers Discuss Movement on Telecom Bills Before Recess and Election During a Federal Communications Bar Association lunch held June 8, House Energy & Commerce Committee (House Commerce Committee) counsel discussed pending communications legislation and the likelihood of seeing movement in the coming months. Majority counsel David Redl expressed interest in advancing H.R.4889, … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Lawmakers Question FCC Approach on Broadband Privacy On June 1, Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI), Greg Walden (R-OR), and Michael Burgess (R-TX) wrote a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler requesting that the FCC reconsider its approach, outlined in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), to protecting the privacy of … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Commerce Committee Leaders Press FCC to Delay Vote on Incentive Auction Procedures On July 14, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (House Commerce Committee), and Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (Communications Subcommittee) of the House Commerce Committee, wrote … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity DOTCOM Act Approved by House Commerce Committee On June 17, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved H.R.805, the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2015 (DOTCOM Act) by voice vote. The DOTCOM Act, previously discussed here, prohibits the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) from terminating its contract with the … Continue Reading