Leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees released a compromise FY 2026 minibus spending package (HR-7006) on Sunday night that would mirror President Donald Trump’s request to increase the FCC’s annual funding but decrease the FTC’s allocation (see 2506020056). Meanwhile, the Senate planned to vote Monday night on the motion to invoke cloture on the House-passed minibus FY26 package (HR-6938), which would increase NTIA’s annual funding to $50 million (see 2601080070).
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., confirmed Thursday that he’s pushing House GOP leaders to follow through on their promise to resurrect some public broadcasting funding as part of negotiations on FY 2026 appropriations legislation after Congress rescinded allocated money last year (see 2507280050). Bacon voted in June to approve the rescissions package that rolled back CPB's advance $1.1 billion in FY 2026 and FY 2027 funding after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other leaders committed to restore some of the money via the appropriations process (see 2506130025). Meanwhile, the lower chamber overwhelmingly voted to pass a minibus FY26 package (HR-6938) that includes funding for NTIA and other Commerce Department agencies.
House Antitrust Subcommittee members were sharply divided during a hearing Wednesday on concerns about the potential impact of dueling Netflix and Paramount Skydance proposals to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. The subpanel's Democrats opposed both proposals but appeared to have stronger misgivings about a Paramount Skydance purchase, given the company's recent interference with CBS’ news content. Republicans were far more muted about the WBD proposals and in some instances chided Democrats for using the hearing to criticize the Trump administration’s media regulatory actions, including FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s handling of Skydance’s $8 billion purchase of Paramount Global last year (see 2507240079).
The House Communications Subcommittee is considering holding its first FCC oversight hearing of this Congress next week, potentially on Jan. 14, several communications policy lobbyists told us. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr will likely draw most lawmakers’ questions, but fellow Commissioners Anna Gomez (D) and Olivia Trusty (R) will also appear before the subpanel, lobbyists said. Its last FCC oversight hearing was in July 2024 (see 2407090049). Carr testified at a House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee hearing in May on the agency's FY 2026 budget request (see 2505210074).
House leaders are eyeing floor votes by the end of the week on an FY 2026 minibus appropriations package that would reduce the scope of President Donald Trump’s proposed funding cuts for NTIA and raise allocations for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the DOJ Antitrust Division. The package, which leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees released Monday, would give NTIA $50 million for FY26. That’s more than 8% higher than what Trump proposed in June (see 2506020056) but still 12% lower than what the agency received for FY 2025.
Lawmakers and other observers said in recent interviews that Congress’ deal to pass the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act without language giving the defense secretary and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman authority to essentially veto commercial use of 3.1-3.45 GHz and 7.4-8.4 GHz bands (see 2512080055) will only temporarily pause fighting between the wireless industry and DOD supporters over military spectrum holdings. Officials pointed to President Donald Trump’s memorandum last week directing NTIA to explore reallocating federal systems currently on the 7.125-7.4 GHz band to the 7.4-8.4 GHz band and other frequencies (see 2512190086) as a fresh indicator that the ceasefire will be fleeting.
Nicole Gustafson, NAB's senior vice president of government relations, said during a podcast released Friday that she's “very optimistic” that the House will vote on the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-979) “early next year,” given recent evidence of momentum in the measure’s favor.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Senate Commerce Committee member Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., traded barbs Wednesday night and Thursday over their exchange at the panel’s commission oversight hearing (see 2512170070) about what the senator called inconsistent handling of news distortion complaints against media companies. Carr refused during the hearing to commit to Rosen’s request that he open “an investigation into Fox News” for editing a 2024 interview with now-President Donald Trump amid his election contest that showed only part of his answer to a question about whether he would release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Top Democrats on the Senate and House Communications subcommittees were noncommittal in interviews Wednesday and Thursday about pursuing legislation to address changes that NTIA made to the $42.5 billion BEAD program’s rules in its June 6 restructuring policy notice. The Government Accountability Office ruled Tuesday that the Congressional Review Act (CRA) doesn’t let the Commerce Department unilaterally make such alterations (see 2512170032). Meanwhile, Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., filed the Supporting U.S. Critical Connectivity and Economic Strategy and Security (Success) for BEAD Act on Thursday to allow states to repurpose non-deployment BEAD funding for next-generation 911 technology upgrades and other purposes.
President Donald Trump issued a memorandum Friday night directing NTIA to “immediately begin the process of identifying” the 7.125-7.4 GHz band “for reallocation for full-power commercial licensed use” and study how to reallocate federal systems on the airwaves “to other frequencies,” including the 7.4-8.4 GHz band. Trump framed the reallocation as needed to ensure U.S. leadership in “6G development.” The move came a day after Trump signed off on the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which Congress passed after leaders reached a deal to omit Senate-side language that would have given the defense secretary and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman authority to essentially veto commercial use of the 3.1-3.45 and 7.4-8.4 GHz bands.