The FCC should “take immediate action” on two petitions against radio stations airing programming from Russia-sponsored news channel Radio Sputnik, said a letter to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel from Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich. The petitions were filed in 2022 on behalf of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. Smithwick and Belendiuk broadcast attorney Arthur Belendiuk prepared the filings against the two stations, which broadcast to the Washington, D.C., area. The petitions ask the FCC to hold license hearing proceedings on WZHF (AM) Capitol Heights, Maryland, and a Reston, Virginia, translator that rebroadcasts WZHF's signal (see 2203230054). “The programming being broadcast does not represent the views and interests of the audience the stations have been licensed to serve,” wrote Bergman. “It is Russian propaganda, bought and paid for by a hostile foreign government.” The FCC hasn’t responded to the petitions, but it also hasn’t granted the license renewal applications of other stations owned by WZHF owners Arthur and Yvonne Liu, said their attorney Mark Lipp of Fletcher Heald. Bergman called out the Radio Sputnik broadcasts for characterizing Ukrainians as Nazis and for “antisemitic tropes” connected with the Israel-Hamas conflict. The stations “have stated that Hamas was justified in its attacks, that Israel is guilty of war crimes and that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza,” Bergman wrote. The letter doesn’t cite specific programming, making it difficult for WZHF’s owners to look into or address the allegations, Lipp said. “It certainly doesn’t sound like something the station would air,” Lipp added. “UCCA and its members deserve a definitive answer. The issues raised in these petitions are serious and merit the FCC’s prompt attention and response,” Bergman’s letter said.

The House Communications Subcommittee plans a Jan. 11 hearing on the subject of improving U.S. communications networks’ cybersecurity, the Commerce Committee said Thursday. “Every day, there are more than 2,200 cyberattacks" on U.S. communications infrastructure and many "originate from foreign adversaries, like communist China, that exploit vulnerabilities in our networks and compromise our national security,” said House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Communications Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

House Commerce Committee member Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, will resign effective Jan. 21 to become Youngstown State University president, the college's board said Tuesday. A former House Communications Subcommittee member, Johnson previously said he wouldn't run for reelection (see 2311220053). Johnson was active on telehealth and spectrum policy issues, including as lead sponsor of the House-passed Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications Parity Act (HR-1353), which would require the FCC to allow satellite direct-to-cell service providers and others to apply to access spectrum to fill in wireless coverage gaps in unserved areas specifically to provide connectivity for emergency services (see 2304270001).

Wireless Infrastructure Association President Patrick Halley praised President Joe Biden Wednesday night for signing the 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement Act (S-2787) (see 2312200061). Yet Halley said he believes it’s “imperative that Congress” follow that stopgap measure with a long-term renewal of the FCC’s lapsed auction authority. The House passed the 5G act measure last week (see 2312110062), giving the FCC authority for 90 days to issue the 2.5 GHz licenses. Lawmakers viewed it as a stopgap measure, required after months of stalled Capitol Hill talks on a broader legislative package that would renew the FCC’s lapsed general auction authority (see 2312040001). “Anything less” than a “long-term reauthorization” will “continue to hamper the advancement of America’s mobile communications and put us in the competitive backseat against China and other global competitors,” Halley said.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Wednesday he is withholding support for FTC nominee Andrew Ferguson until the nominee's policy views are better known (see 2312190082). In a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Hawley said the Republican Conference risks “giving away too much” in a proposed year-end confirmations package with Democrats. The package includes dozens of Democratic nominees and “just a few Republican appointees,” he said. Moreover, Republicans need additional time to carefully evaluate FTC commissioner hopeful Ferguson and National Transportation Safety Board nominee Todd Inman, he said, citing open questions about Ferguson’s views on Big Tech. Ferguson and Inman are former McConnell aides. “I am currently withholding my consent for these nominees to be confirmed without a floor vote -- as is any senator’s right to do -- until I and others can evaluate satisfactory responses to these important policy questions,” Hawley wrote. The senator said he wants to meet the nominees to discuss their views on questions he appended to his letter. Offices for McConnell and Ferguson didn’t comment Wednesday.

DOJ officials may have abused surveillance authorities to search private communications of offices on Capitol Hill in 2017, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote Tuesday, issuing a subpoena for Attorney General Merrick Garland. According to Jordan, Google informed the former chief investigative counsel to then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, that DOJ “subpoenaed Google in 2017 for the staffer's personal phone records and emails during the period when [Grassley] was conducting vigorous oversight of the Department's handling of the so-called Steele dossier.” Jordan said Google’s response suggests DOJ sought communications of Senate staffers from both parties during oversight of the same issue. The committee needs to better understand DOJ’s legal process in seeking these communications, which could inform legislative proposals about the department’s notice requirements when seeking such information, said Jordan. DOJ didn’t comment.

The Senate approved the NOAA Weather Radio Modernization Act (S-1416) Monday night by unanimous consent, updating the National Weather Radio apparatus. S-1416 and House companion HR-1482 would require NOAA to upgrade infrastructure to improve reliable transmission of emergency alerts and reduce the system’s use of copper wire transmissions. In addition, the bills would require NOAA to increase NWR’s coverage to include 98%-99% of the U.S. population, including more rural areas. The House Science Committee advanced HR-1482 in March. “Gaps in weather radio coverage keep communities in the dark about incoming weather hazards,” which is “why I’m proud” the Senate passed S-1416, said Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. “The threat from weather events is only increasing, especially with El Nino bringing atmospheric rivers and winter storms this season, and access to reliable, real-time alerts are more important than ever to keep their families safe and homes secure,” said Cantwell. Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said S-1416 would “ensure Texans and all Americans have a fully functioning, reliable early warning system that communicates critical information during disasters.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation, National Association of Farm Broadcasting and 23 other agricultural groups backed the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-3413/S-1669) in a Monday letter to the bill’s lead sponsors. The measure, which has faced headwinds in both chambers (see 2312060073), would require the Transportation Department to mandate automakers to include AM radio technology in future vehicles. The Senate Commerce Committee advanced S-1669 in July (see 2307270063). NAB, a strong supporter of HR-3413/S-1669, publicized the agricultural groups’ letter Tuesday. “Our members rely on AM radio and the vital services it provides daily. AM radio is a source of weather, commodity, and national farm policy updates for our members,” the agricultural groups wrote the four HR-3413/S-1669 lead sponsors -- Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.; Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark.; and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. “Access to radio becomes even more important for America’s producers in times of emergency. For those who work mostly out in the open, often miles from home, response time is critical. Whether a thunderstorm is developing, a tornado is moving closer, or wildfires are spreading, our members need a reliable form of communication to access critical information.” AM “radio stations are unparalleled in their range,” as a “single AM station can reach up to 700 miles away and travel through barriers like mountains and buildings,” the groups said. “When the power goes out, and cell towers go offline, radio is still available. While millions of rural Americans still lack broadband service, rural and agricultural programming through AM radio helps keep rural residents apprised of news that may impact their businesses, health care, education, and family.”

Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida and nine other House Commerce Committee Republicans had urged the FCC ahead of its Wednesday meeting against approving data breach notification rules that would sidestep a 2017 Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval that rescinded similar regulations as part of the commission's 2016 ISP privacy order (see 1704030054). FCC Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington raised the CRA issue in their dissents against the data breach rules that the commission approved Wednesday 3-2 (see 2312130019). "These rules are substantially the same as those Congress disapproved of" in the ISP privacy order, Cammack and the other Republicans said in a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel released Wednesday. "Therefore, it would be unlawful for the FCC to adopt these new rules." They cited "requirements for notification, content of customer notification, and recordkeeping," which "largely mirror" elements of the 2016 rules. "Given these similarities, we are shocked that the FCC is attempting to revive these rules after Congress explicitly rejected them," the lawmakers said. When "Congress overrules an agency, that action is final; no agency has the power to ignore the plain meaning of a Congressional statute."

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, Digital First Project Executive Director Nathan Leamer and officials from 22 other groups urged Congress Wednesday night to oppose the FCC's adopted anti-digital discrimination rules (see 2311150040) and hold the commission “accountable for this power grab.” Republicans have repeatedly criticized the FCC's November order, arguing the Democratic majority went far beyond the statutory language mandating it pursue the rulemaking as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (see 2311300069). The rules “will divide Americans by race, sex, income level, and many other categories while far exceeding its statutory mandate,” the groups said in letters to members of Congress. “The FCC would trade the sound ‘disparate treatment’ standard for the unjust and arbitrary ‘disparate impact’ standard. Whereas longstanding precedent has held that the government or third-party plaintiffs would have to provide evidence of intentional discrimination on the part of a business for them to be held liable under Civil Rights law, now they must only demonstrate that different groups of people use the same service at different rates,” the letter said. The order “will empower leftist activists to shake down any telecommunications company that tries to expand broadband to unserved areas under the threat of a lawsuit,” the groups said: “In most cases it is not even the decision of the provider where they get to build. Local and state governments largely control the permitting process that dictates where telcos can operate. If they had their druthers, there is little doubt providers would seek to gain as many new customers as possible from unserved areas.”