This report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases. POTUS’ Schedule* 10:15 a.m. EST – THE PRESIDENT receives the President’s Daily Brief | The White House 4:00 p.m. EST – THE PRESIDENT holds a press conference | East Room… Continue Reading
This report provides a snapshot of the US Executive Branch priorities via daily schedules and the prior day’s press releases. POTUS’ Schedule* 3:00 p.m. EDT – THE PRESIDENT participates in a roundtable with Governors on the reopening of America’s small businesses | State Dining Room VPOTUS’ Schedule* 10:00 a.m. EDT – THE VICE PRESIDENT departs … Continue Reading
White House officials have begun moving publicly to set the table for bipartisan negotiations that will determine the contents of the next major federal COVID-19 response bill. Larry Kudlow, the director of President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council (NEC), says the talks will formally begin after the US Congress’ Independence Day state/district work period. Senior … Continue Reading
Reassigned numbers have been at the center of the surge in litigation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) during the last few years. By now the story is well known to businesses that actively communicate with their customers: the customer consents to receive telemarketing and/or informational robocalls[1] at a wireless telephone number, but months … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senators Seek Hearing on Sinclair-Tribune Merger On June 5, a group of senators including Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Al Franken (D-MN), and Corey Booker (D-NJ) sent a letter to Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (Senate Commerce Committee) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chairman of … Continue Reading
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 Senators Introduce Bill to Expand Broadband Deployment Using Accurate Coverage Data On May 11, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced S.1104, the Rural Wireless Access Act of 2017. The bill would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “collect broadband coverage … 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 Senate Approves Joint Resolution to Repeal the FCC’s Broadband Privacy Rules On March 23, the U.S. Senate passed S.J. Res. 34, a joint resolution to repeal the broadband privacy rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in October 2016. Introduced by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), the joint resolution, which states that “Congress … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Bill on Unwanted Robocalls and Texts Introduced in Senate On March 8, Sens. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Help Americans Never Get Unwanted Phone Calls (HANGUP) Act of 2017. The legislation, a version of which was introduced in 2016, would eliminate a provision of the 2015 Bipartisan Budget Act … 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 Cell Location Privacy Act Introduced in House On February 15, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) introduced H.R.1061, the Cell Location Privacy Act of 2017. The bill proposes to ban the use of cell-site simulators, known as StingRay devices, without first obtaining a warrant. Cell-site simulators are devices that appear to be legitimate cell phone … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Approves Email Privacy Act On February 6, the U.S. House of Representatives (House) passed H.R.387, the Email Privacy Act, by voice vote. The bill updates part of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) by enhancing the privacy protections applicable to electronic communications such as emails, social media posts, and other … 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 Anti-Spoofing Act Introduced in Senate Senate Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee (Senate Commerce Committee) Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) has introduced S.134, the Spoofing Prevention Act of 2017. The legislation, the text of which has not yet been released, targets the practice of caller identification (caller ID) “spoofing,” which is a practice whereby … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity MOBILE NOW Act Reintroduced in Senate On Tuesday, January 3, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Senate Commerce Committee), reintroduced S.19, the Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless (MOBILE NOW) Act. The bill, previously discussed here, here, and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Rep. Greg Walden to Chair House Energy & Commerce Committee in the 115th Congress Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) has been selected by the House Republican Steering Committee (the body that assigns party members to House committees) to chair the House Energy & Commerce Committee (House Commerce Committee) in the 115th Congress, which will … 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 House Commerce Committee Passes Anti-Spoofing Act On September 21, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved H.R.2669, the Anti-Spoofing Act of 2015, by voice vote. The bill, previously discussed here, here, and here, targets the practice of caller identification (caller ID) “spoofing.” Spoofing is a practice whereby callers falsify or disguise their caller … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Passes Amateur Radio Parity Act On September 12, the US House of Representatives passed H.R.1301, the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2016. The bill, previously discussed here and here, would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt rules that would protect amateur radio operators from the reach of community association rules, … 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
