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 President to Highlight Infrastructure Initiative This Week President Trump will hold several events this week intended to increase support for his Infrastructure Initiative presumably by providing more details about the proposal. On Monday, the President will make an announcement at the White House with House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity President’s Budget Expected this Week President Trump is expected to release his FY 2018 budget this week, and transportation stakeholders are eager to see whether the full budget includes cuts to transportation programs with bipartisan Congressional support that were included in the President’s “Skinny Budget” released in March. In particular, the Skinny Budget … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity This Week is Infrastructure Week May 15 – 19 is Infrastructure Week, with numerous events being held in Washington D.C. and around the country in an effort to increase support for investing in the country’s infrastructure. Infrastructure Week’s kickoff event will be held the morning of Monday, May 15, at the U.S. Chamber … 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 Mulvaney: Infrastructure Bill Might Include $200 Billion in Direct Spending Last week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney said that the Administration’s proposed FY 2018 budget could include $200 billion for infrastructure with the understanding that it would be leveraged at a 5-to-1 ratio to spur more than $1 … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Infrastructure Bill Could be Packaged with Tax Reform There has been considerable discussion on the Hill and in the Trump Administration about the prospects of combining a large-scale infrastructure bill with comprehensive tax reform. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin recently met with the Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Administration Indicates Turn to Tax Reform after Healthcare Fails, Potentially Moving Up Focus on Infrastructure The Trump Administration has indicated it will now turn to a comprehensive tax reform effort, as the House Republican’s healthcare reform proposal failed last week. The high-profile American Health Care Act (AHCA) failure showed starkly the divisions within … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity President Releases “Skinny Budget” On March 16, the Administration released the President’s “Skinny Budget.” As is typical with a budget outline provided by a new President, the request is very high level and does not include nearly the detail of a full budget proposal. The Administration has said it will release its full … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Transportation Stakeholders Hopeful for More Information This Week As the Trump Administration and Congress continue to develop a large-scale infrastructure proposal, transportation stakeholders are hopeful they will get additional information this week. The President’s ‘Skinny Budget” is expected to be released on Thursday, March 16. While it is unclear how much detail will … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Secretary Chao Discusses Infrastructure Priorities as Administration Begins to Release More Details As the Trump Administration and Congress continue to develop a large-scale infrastructure proposal, the Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary, Elaine Chao, discussed the Administration’s priorities. Speaking to the National Governors Association last week, Secretary Chao acknowledged challenges in passing the $1 … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity President Trump Expected to Discuss Infrastructure in Coming Weeks The President is expected to release additional information on his infrastructure agenda in the coming weeks. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the President will discuss infrastructure in his address to Congress on Tuesday. Additionally, he noted that more information will be included … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity House Transportation Committee to Begin Holding FAA Hearings The House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee will begin examining Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization this week, with the first of five expected hearings on the issue. The first hearing, titled “Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for America: State of American Aviation Manufacturing.” The witnesses … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Congress Begins to Evaluate Infrastructure Needs, Senate EPW to Hold Hearing this Week The Trump Administration has provided few specifics on its trillion-dollar infrastructure proposal, and it has become increasingly clear that Congress will not act on a broad infrastructure bill in the first 100 days of the new administration. Recently, House Speaker … 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 Senate to Approve Chao Nomination This Week On Tuesday, the Senate will vote on the Honorable Elaine Chao’s nomination to serve as Transportation Secretary. Secretary-designate Chao is expected to face little opposition in the Senate and should be confirmed easily. For additional information on Ms. Chao and her nomination hearing in the Senate … Continue Reading
Legislative Activity Senate May Approve Chao Nomination This Week While Nominee-designate Elaine Chao was not included in the two cabinet members approved by the Senate on Friday (Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly were confirmed), but Ms. Chao may be confirmed this week. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John … 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 Senate Commerce Committee to Hold Chao Nomination Hearing The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Transportation Secretary-designate Elaine Chao. In addition to serving as the Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush, she served as Deputy Secretary at US DOT under President George H. W. Bush, … 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
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 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 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 Democratic Senators Express Concern over Charter-Time Warner Merger On February 25, five senators, including Sens. Edward Markey (D-MA), Al Franken (D-MN), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), wrote a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler expressing “significant concern” regarding the high-profile … Continue Reading
