Legislative Activity Senate Appropriations Committee Passes Bill That Would Decrease FCC’s Budget On Thursday, July 23, the Senate Committee on Appropriations (Senate Appropriations Committee) approved the Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16) Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill (Appropriations Bill). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would receive $320 million, a cut of $20 million (roughly 6%) … 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 House Subcommittee Asks FCC for Nationwide Number Portability On July 9, all the members of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee (Communications Subcommittee) of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (House Commerce Committee) wrote a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler asking him to ensure that consumers may take their existing … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Passes DOTCOM Act as Senate Considers Companion Bill On June 23, the House of Representatives (House) passed H.R.805, the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2015 (DOTCOM Act), by a vote of 378 to 25. The DOTCOM Act, previously discussed here and here, prohibits the National Telecommunications and Information Administration … 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
Legislative Activity House Commerce Committee Advances FCC Transparency Bill On June 3, the House Energy & Commerce Committee (House Commerce Committee) approved, by voice vote, H.R.2583, the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2015. The bill was introduced to the House Commerce Committee on May 29 by Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) after having been … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Seven FCC Transparency Bills Approved by House Commerce Subcommittee On May 20, the House Energy & Commerce Committee’s (House Commerce Committee’s) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (Communications Subcommittee) held a markup session on seven bills designed to improve the processes and transparency of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission). The markup was … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity FCC Commissioners Testify in Senate Appropriations Hearing on FCC’s Budget On May 12, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Ajit Pai testified before the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations in a hearing concerning the FCC’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16). The … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Members Introduce Rural Call Completion Joint Resolution On April 29, Reps. Bob Latta (R-OH) and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced H. Res. 234, a bipartisan resolution outlining the steps that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should take to improve telephone service in rural areas and ensure completion of calls. The resolution asks the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Introduces Three Draft Bills on FCC Transparency On April 21, members of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee (House Commerce Committee) introduced three draft bills aimed at improving transparency at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The first, offered by Communications and Technology Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Introduces Joint Resolution to Repeal FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules On April 13, Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) introduced a Joint Resolution to invalidate the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) open Internet rules adopted on February 26. The resolution states that Congress disapproves of the FCC’s rules and that those rules will have no effect. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Commerce Committee Holds Spectrum Policy Hearing On March 26 the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (House Commerce Committee) held a hearing entitled “Next Steps for Spectrum Policy.” The hearing focused on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) preparations for the broadcast incentive auction, set to begin … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate Hold Hearings on FCC Oversight On March 18 and 19, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (Senate Commerce Committee) and the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s (House Commerce Committee’s) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology respectively held hearings concerning oversight of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) policy decisions and … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House and Senate Hold Hearings on Internet Issues On February 25, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation held companion hearings concerning the Internet and Internet governance. The hearings occurred one day in advance of the Federal Communications Commission’s … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Commerce Committee Approves FCC Consolidated Reporting Act On February 12, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (House Commerce Committee) approved the Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act of 2015 (H.R.734) by voice vote. The bill, introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), seeks to improve congressional oversight and reduce reporting burdens by … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Bill Introduced to Reform FCC Rulemaking On February 2, Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) introduced a bill, H.R.655,that would reform the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) rulemaking processes. Specifically, the bill requires an analysis of the costs and benefits during the rulemaking process and creates certain presumptions regarding regulatory forbearance and biennial regulatory review determinations. … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity The Rebuild America Act Includes Funding for Broadband On January 27, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a bill entitled The Rebuild America Act. The legislation envisions a five-year plan to rebuild the country’s network of roads, bridges, transit systems, and other major infrastructure projects. Included in the bill’s $1 trillion investment is $5 … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity GOP Lawmakers Unveil Net Neutrality Bill Restricting FCC Power On January 16, Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate unveiled draft net neutrality bills that would require broadband providers to follow some net neutrality principles while imposing important new restrictions on the power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The legislation proposes to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Commerce Committee Assignments Announced On January 8, the Senate officially ratified Sen. John Thune (R-SD) as Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee for the 114th Congress. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) is the Ranking Member for the committee. Sen. Thune announced that Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) will serve as the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Commerce Committee Releases GOP Policy Proposals On December 29, 2014, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) released a set of policy papers entitled “GOP Solutions: A Compilation of Policy Proposals from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.” It is a compilation of prior papers issued by the Committee … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity STELA Reauthorization Act Passes House and Senate On November 19, the House approved H.R. 5728, the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014, which will ensure that 1.5 million satellite television subscribers continue to receive distant broadcast network television signals. The Senate approved the legislation on November 20, 2014, and President Obama signed it into … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Passes E-LABEL Bill On Thursday, November 13, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the Senate version of the Enhance Labeling, Accessing, and Branding of Electronic Licenses Act (E-LABEL Act) (S. 2583). The E-LABEL Act allows manufacturers of electronics to meet FCC labeling requirements by posting digital notices providing that information on the … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Committee Passes Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act On September 17, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee passed the Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act (STAVRA) (S.2799). The legislation would extend the authority of satellite television carriers to retransmit certain television broadcast station signals and make several reforms to … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate Confirms FCC Nominees Last Tuesday, October 29, the Senate unanimously confirmed the nominations of Tom Wheeler to become chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Michael O’Rielly to fill the empty Republican seat on the commission. The Senate vote followed Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) decision to lift his hold on Wheeler’s … Continue Reading
