Adam Bender

"Telco issues will have a higher profile” next Congress than they have in the current one, Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas, of the House Commerce Committee said after a speech Wednesday at the Heritage Foundation. He told us he’s open to hearings to find bipartisan consensus for rewriting the Telecom Act. But if the GOP allows Barton to be committee chairman, repealing the healthcare reform law would be his immediate priority, he said.

Cost cutting efforts must not result in a weakened national public safety network, said a spokeswoman for Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. Rockefeller has a bill to give the 700 MHz D-block to public safety, but some conservatives say the giveaway wouldn’t be consistent with the cost-cutting platform on which many GOP election winners ran (CD Nov 11 p2). “Chairman Rockefeller thinks that underfunding one of our government’s most basic obligations -- making sure our first responders have the tools they need to protect the public -- is simply unacceptable,” the Rockefeller spokeswoman said. “He is committed to giving first responders the tools they require to keep us safe -- and will continue to push for them to get the spectrum they need for a nationwide interoperable system.”

GOP and tea party movement gains from the election could mean more support for a commercial auction of the 700 MHz D-block, officials of conservative think tanks said in interviews. Giving the D-block away to public safety would not be consistent with the cost-cutting platform that many winning GOP candidates ran on, they said. Building a national interoperable public safety network is expected to be a key issue for Congress in 2011, which will mark the 10-year anniversary of 9/11.

Expect an “activist” House Commerce Committee that does “aggressive oversight of the FCC,” if the GOP allows Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas, to become chairman, he said Friday on C-SPAN’s The Communicators. The committee would also be bipartisan and transparent, he said. Due to GOP committee term limit rules, Barton must get a waiver from the House Steering Committee to become chairman next year. Barton has been very public about his desire to become chairman (CD Nov 5 p1).

The elections may be over, but the race for House Commerce Committee chair next session is heating up. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., confirmed Thursday that he wants the job. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, made a public plea to incoming freshman Republicans to support him for the post. Due to GOP term limit rules, Ranking Member Barton must get a waiver from the House GOP Steering Committee to stay atop the committee. House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., and Fred Upton, R-Mich., who among those interested in the position has the most committee seniority, also want the job.

NTIA didn’t favor certain congressional districts or parties in distributing broadband money, Chief of Staff Tom Power said. In an interview Thursday, Power disputed a Communications Daily report (CD Oct 28 p1) that 40 percent of NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant money went to the districts of Commerce Committee members who make up 14 percent of the House. “NTIA awarded BTOP grants based on merit and in strict accordance with the comprehensive review process detailed in our grant rules,” said Power. “As described in those rules, we considered factors such as sustainability projects and how they would meet the needs of the community. This resulted in a proportional distribution of grant funds, without regard to congressional districts or political affiliations, and any assertion to the contrary is just plain wrong.” Power said “the appearance of a disproportionate distribution” in the House “is created by ignoring the full scope of the grants,” many of which went to projects covering multiple districts. NTIA has been crunching numbers this week and so far has found that other committees also received a proportionate amount of funds, he said. For example, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee represents 38 percent of states and got 40 percent of the money, Power said. He conceded that it’s “very hard” to break down grants for multiple districts among them. There are a number of ways to “slice it and dice it,” he said. “Do you look at where more of the fiber was laid or do you look where the headquarters was? I don’t even know how we'd begin to do that.” NTIA is working to get winning applications posted, Power said. “The delay is that the applicants can claim FOIA exemptions and require that certain things be redacted.” Some are easier to work with than others, he said.

AT&T added and retained more wireless customers in the third quarter than it had in any previous Q3, the carrier said Thursday. And it sold a record number of Apple iPhone handsets, though many were to subscribers it already had. AT&T mobile broadband “is approaching a $20 billion a year business, and the business is growing at 25-30 percent,” Chief Financial Officer Rick Lindner said on the carrier’s earnings call. Wireline isn’t achieving the same success, but Lindner said the carrier isn’t thinking about ditching the business.

The Republican who may lead the House Commerce Committee next year said FCC regulations “are only further smothering the economy.” In a Washington Times op-ed piece Tuesday, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., urged congressional oversight of the FCC and other federal agencies next year. Upton has expressed interest in becoming the next Commerce Committee chairman, and some telecom industry officials say he’s the favorite. Current Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton, R-Texas, must step down under GOP term-limit rules unless he gets a waiver from the Republican leadership.

Congress could move on spectrum legislation next year no matter which political party is in control, a telecom aide to Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, told a Law Seminars International conference Monday. A package of noncontroversial spectrum items could be attached to a reauthorization of the FCC’s auction authority, said the aide, Matthew Hussey. FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman urged Congress to quickly authorize incentive auctions to free up broadcaster spectrum.

Capitol Hill aides urged patience from those seeking a Telecom Act revamp by Congress. A rewrite will happen, but Congress doesn’t want to rush it, said Danny Sepulveda, senior adviser to Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass. Other priorities next year include wireless spectrum and oversight of the broadband stimulus program, aides told a panel discussion Tuesday by the Free State Foundation.