Legislative Activity Senators Seek Probe of Cyber Attacks on FCC’s Website On May 31, Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Al Franken (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Edward Markey (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) wrote a letter to Andrew McCabe, Acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), asking agency to “prioritize” an investigation into cyber-attacks that … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Democrats Introduce Infrastructure Bill that Includes $40 Billion for Broadband On May 17, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) introduced H.R.2479, the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act (LIFT America Act). According to a press release on Rep. Pallone’s website, the legislation “sets out five years of funding for essential infrastructure improvements, job growth, … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Online Privacy Legislation Introduced in the Senate On April 27, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Tom Udall (D-NM) introduced S.964, the Managing Your Data Against Telecom Abuses Act of 2017 (MY DATA Act). The legislation prevents broadband providers and edge providers, such as Amazon or Netflix, from using “an unfair or deceptive act … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Chairman Pai Tells Members of Congress that Set-Top Box Docket to Stay Open On Thursday, April 13, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai responded to a January 25 letter (previously discussed here) from members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee that asked Chairman Pai to make a “healthy practice of closing dockets … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Approves Joint Resolution to Repeal the FCC’s Broadband Privacy Rules, Sending the Measure to the President On March 28, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution (S.J. Res. 34) passed by the Senate last week to repeal the broadband privacy rules adopted by the Federal Communications … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Broadband-Focused Bills Introduced in House Several Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee (House Commerce Committee) have introduced bills focused on broadband. The bills are as follows: H.R.1546, the Rural Wireless Act of 2017. Introduced on March 15 by Rep. David Loebsack (D-IA), the bill would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Cybersecurity Legislation Introduced in the House and Senate On March 2, legislators in both the House of Representatives (House) and the Senate introduced several bills relating to cybersecurity reforms. As of this writing, the text of the bills below has not been publicly released. The following bills were introduced in the House: H.R.1340, … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Bill to Establish Rural Telecommunications and Broadband Committee Introduced in Senate On February 2, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced S.277, the Rural Telecommunications and Broadband Service Act. The bill, the text of which is not yet publicly available, would establish a Rural Telecommunications and Broadband Advisory Committee within the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senators Urge FCC to Examine Zero-Rating Plans Seven senators, including Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Al Franken (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), wrote a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler urging the FCC to “take enforcement action against … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Election Generally Leaves Telecom-Related Committee Members in Place The November 8 election saw many of the incumbents on the principal congressional committees involved in the telecommunications sector win reelection. No incumbents on the House Energy and Commerce Committee (House Commerce Committee) lost a general election race, though there is some imminent movement with … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate Committee Chairs Call for Reconsideration of IANA Transition On September 8, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), House Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Senate Commerce Committee) Chairman John Thune (R-SD), and Senate Committee on the Judiciary … Continue Reading
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 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 Senators Press FCC for Extension of Broadband Privacy Comment Period On May 19, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) wrote a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler requesting that the FCC extend the comment period for the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on a proposed framework … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity 60 Members of Congress Address FCC’s Set-Top Box Proposal On May 5, 60 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle wrote a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler expressing concern about the FCC’s recent proposal to change the FCC’s set-top box rules (previously discussed here). The letter stated … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Subcommittee to Examine Seven Communications Bills The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (Communications Subcommittee) of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (House Commerce Committee) will hold a legislative hearing on April 13 during which it will review seven communications-related bills. The following legislation will be considered during the hearing: H.R.2031, the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Sen. Thune Introduces FCC Reauthorization Act On March 7, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee (Senate Commerce Committee) introduced S.2644, the FCC Reauthorization Act of 2016. The bill would reauthorize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which has not been reauthorized since 1990, and would authorize appropriations … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Sen. Thune Introduces Bill Regarding Spectrum Auction Deposits On November 19, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee (Senate Commerce Committee), introduced S.2319, a bill that reduces some of the administrative burden associated with the handling of auction deposits. Specifically, the bill would require spectrum auction deposits … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Sees Flurry of Proposed Spectrum Legislation Three spectrum-related bills or drafts thereof have been introduced in the Senate. First, on November 3, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced S.2227, the Private Spectrum Relocation Funding Act of 2015. The bill would amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act, (NTIA Act), 47 U.S.C. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Federal Spectrum Reallocation and More Auctions Included in Budget Bill Congress’ budget bill contains a number of important spectrum policy items, including a plan for reallocating and auctioning more federal wireless spectrum to commercial providers. Title X of the bill calls on the Secretary of Commerce and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House & Senate Leaders Urge Action on European “Safe Harbor” Ruling Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Senate Commerce Committee) Chairman John Thune (R-SD) along with Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) wrote a letter to Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Federal Trade Commission … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Sees New Legislation on Inmate Calling and Video Rates On September 29, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) introduced H.R.3638, the Family Telephone Connection Protection Act of 2015. The bill would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prescribe rules regulating the rates charged for inmate telephone and video services to ensure such rates … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Lawmakers Expected to Introduce Spectrum Legislation Soon Though nothing has been introduced, recent reports suggest that that the public can expect members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (House Commerce Committee) and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee (Senate Commerce Committee) to introduce legislation aimed at freeing up government … Continue Reading
