Jimm Phillips

The Senate Commerce Committee will likely advance an amended version of the draft Spectrum and National Security Act during a Wednesday executive session with unanimous support from the panel’s 14 Democratic members, but lobbyists will watch closely how many Republicans don’t openly object to the measure as a means of determining its viability. The spectrum bill, led by Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., would restore the FCC’s lapsed auction mandate through Sept. 30, 2029. The measure proposes using future license sales revenue to repay a proposed loan to the commission to fund the affordable connectivity program in FY 2024 and $3.08 billion for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2404250061).

Alliance for Automotive Innovation President John Bozzella and CTA CEO Gary Shapiro sharply criticize a draft revised version of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act in written statements ahead of their testimony at a Tuesday Innovation Subcommittee hearing. Conversely, Navajo Nation Washington Office Executive Director Justin Ahasteen and Midway Broadcasting CEO Melody Spann Cooper endorse the updated measure in their written testimony. The revised AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, like earlier version HR-3413/S-1669 (see 2305260034), would mandate that U.S. automakers keep AM radio technology in future domestic-made vehicles. House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., signaled a change in position on the AM radio requirement by leading the revised draft released earlier this month (see 2404160067). Rodgers and other panel Republicans were previously skeptical about enacting a mandate (see 2306060088). The hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn.

The Senate Commerce Committee is postponing markups of an amended version of the draft Spectrum and National Security Act and other bills that were set for consideration during a Wednesday executive session, the panel announced Tuesday night. Senate Commerce still planned to vote Wednesday on a slate of nominations and will consider the postponed bills at an unspecified later date. A panel spokesperson said the postponement was due to time constraints, including ones related to floor consideration of the FAA Reauthorization Act.

The Senate Commerce Committee confirmed Thursday the panel plans to mark up the draft Spectrum and National Security Act and five other tech and telecom-focused bills during a Wednesday executive session, as expected (see 2404240074). The 108-page draft measure from committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., would restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2029, also as expected (see 2403210063). The proposal also provides a new vehicle for allocating stopgap funding for the commission’s ailing affordable connectivity program amid a delay in advancing a separate House-side bid to force a floor vote on providing that money, lobbyists told us.

Republican members of the House and Senate Commerce committees echoed arguments from opponents of the FCC’s draft net neutrality order in a letter to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel ahead of the commission’s expected adoption of the new rules (see 2404190038). The panels’ Republicans are eying a range of potential actions countering the net neutrality bid (see 2404180058). Meanwhile, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta (Ohio) and 11 other Republicans urged Rosenworcel last Thursday to “leverage all resources at its disposal for a successful 5G Fund that maximizes the reach and effectiveness of the program.”

The Senate Commerce Committee is eyeing a May 1 vote on the to-be-filed Spectrum and National Security Act from panel Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., lobbyists told us. A general notice on the Senate Commerce markup session was online Wednesday night but the committee hadn’t formally announced its agenda. It wasn’t certain Wednesday night whether the Spectrum and National Security Act would actually be part of the meeting. The executive session will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell. There are five other telecom and tech-focused bills on the docket: the Rural Broadband Protection Act (S-275), Network Equipment Transparency Act (S-690), Protecting Kids on Social Media Act (S-1291), Create AI Act (S-2714) and Future of AI Innovation Act (S-4178).

Congressional Republicans have remained relatively quiet about the FCC’s draft net neutrality order since Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel released it earlier this month (see 2404030043) but are likely to become more active in opposition when the commission adopts it as expected next week, lawmakers and observers said in interviews. Congressional Democrats have been comparatively active since the draft’s release, including sending Rosenworcel suggestions aimed at preventing loopholes that ISPs could use to circumvent regulation. Congressional Democrats highlighted that divergence in style Thursday by bringing Rosenworcel to Capitol Hill for a news conference that amounted to a preemptive victory lap ahead of the FCC’s April 25 vote on the order.

Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act (HR-6929/S-3565) lead House sponsor Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., told us she's cautiously optimistic ahead of the opening of a discharge petition Thursday to force a floor vote on the measure (H.Res. 1119). HR-6929/S-3565 proposes allocating $7 billion for FY 2024 to the ailing FCC connectivity program. Thursday marks the end of a seven-legislative-day waiting period before Clarke can begin collecting signatures on the petition, which would require backing from at least 218 members before becoming effective (see 2404100075). Republican observers, even those who support giving ACP stopgap money, are skeptical the discharge petition bid will succeed.

The House Commerce Committee said Tuesday it plans an April 30 hearing on a revised draft version of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. The move represents an apparent reversal in panel Republicans' position on the measure, which would mandate U.S. automakers keep AM radio technology in future domestic-made vehicles, given they voiced skepticism about a previous iteration (HR-3413/S-1669) earlier in this Congress (see 2401050065). The AM radio bill's backers within and outside the broadcast industry pointed to the hearing announcement as a sign of momentum but stopped short of labeling it an indication House leaders had reached a clear-cut deal to ease the measure's passage through the lower chamber.

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta (Ohio) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Brett Guthrie (Ky.) are highlighting reaching a deal on an expansive spectrum legislative package as a top communications policy priority if they succeed retiring Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) as the panel's lead Republican in the next Congress. Both contenders separately told us their spectrum focus wouldn’t waver if Rodgers and other congressional leaders reach a deal this year that restores the FCC’s lapsed auction authority and other airwaves-related priorities. Talks on spectrum legislation have largely stalled since early 2023, but Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and others are shopping new proposals (see 2403210063).