Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., plans “no changes” to his bill to revamp the Universal Service Fund, he said in an interview last week. He hopes the bill, six years in the making, can be reintroduced early next session, he said. After the election defeat of Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., Terry is looking for a new Democratic co-sponsor.
Adam Bender
Adam Bender, Senior Editor, is the state and local telecommunications reporter for Communications Daily, where he also has covered Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. He has won awards for his Warren Communications News reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, Specialized Information Publishers Association and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Bender studied print journalism at American University and is the author of dystopian science-fiction novels. You can follow Bender at WatchAdam.blog and @WatchAdam on Twitter.
Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., “will remain active” after he departs the Congress at the end of the year, he said in an interview last week. “I'm 64 but I feel pretty young … and I think I'm good for another 20 years doing something.” The outgoing House Communications Subcommittee chairman hopes Congress next year will finish bipartisan work he started on privacy, incentive auctions and a revamped Universal Service Fund.
Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., should chair the Commerce Committee next year if Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, can’t get a waiver from GOP term-limit rules, Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., told us Friday. Terry endorsed Barton for chairman (CD Nov 18 p6) in a letter earlier in the week. But Upton is his second choice “because of seniority,” Terry said. Losers of the GOP race for Commerce Committee chair will likely seek the Communications Subcommittee chair as their fallback, unless they want to lead the Energy Subcommittee, he said.
Who becomes chairman of the House Communications Subcommittee will depend on who is named Commerce Committee chairman, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., told us at a reception Thursday sponsored by The Hill. Walden, a former broadcaster, is reportedly in the running to lead the subcommittee, but he wouldn’t say whether he’s interested. Walden, who leads the GOP Transition Committee, said it’s up to the Steering Committee to decide whether Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas, can regain the chairmanship. Under GOP committee term limits, Barton needs a waiver to get the job. The Steering Committee will simply elect the chairman, and the outcome will show whether Barton got his waiver, Walden said. “Otherwise, our term limits are in place.”
Legislators from both parties doubted a Capitol Hill deal on net neutrality is possible in the near term. But the lawmakers from the House and Senate were upbeat on spectrum and privacy action, at a Politico forum Thursday. Spectrum and privacy are also priorities for President Barack Obama, said U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra.
House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas, got support Wednesday from Reps. Cliff Stearns of Florida, John Shimkus of Illinois and six others committee Republicans. His main opponent for the job, Rep. Fred Upton, D-Mich., meanwhile, claimed support of another committee member, Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C. With Republicans considering GOP caucus rule changes this week, Barton faces opposition from the GOP Transition Committee in attempts to change the interpretation of a committee leadership term-limit rule that could prevent him from becoming chairman next year.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., wants Congress to fix TV and protect consumers, he said Wednesday afternoon. A broken retransmission consent system is just one “symptom” of the problem, the Commerce Committee chairman told a Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing. While open to revising retrans rules, Subcommittee Ranking Member John Ensign, R-Nev., said he wouldn’t support government-required arbitration as envisioned in a draft bill by Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass.
Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., “will prevent the FCC from regulating the Internet,” if he becomes chairman of the Commerce Committee, he said in a memo circulated this week to GOP colleagues. Upton, viewed by many in the industry as the frontrunner for the job, formally announced his intent to lead the committee separately in a letter Monday to GOP Leader John Boehner of Ohio and other Republicans.
Senators plan to meet Wednesday to discuss the status of cybersecurity legislation, Sen. Tom Carpenter, D-Del., said before a policy lunch Tuesday for Democratic senators. Senators involved in the effort are “working through negotiations,” Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., said after the lunch. “We're going to try hard” to wrap up negotiations soon, he said. “I think it’s important to try and get something done on that, because that’s a major vulnerability [and] threat, and we need to try to address it.”
The GOP Majority Transition Committee doesn’t plan to clarify the party’s House term-limit rule, which appears to prevent Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas, from becoming committee chairman, said a spokesman for the transition team. That’s despite a letter to the transition team by three former Republican chairmen backing Barton for the job. Meanwhile, Democratic Reps. Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania and Bobby Rush of Illinois said Friday they'll seek the job of ranking member of the Communications Subcommittee.