Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., asked the GAO Monday to review the effectiveness of federal, state and local broadband programs. They cited the results of a 2022 GAO study that found there’s no cohesive federal broadband strategy to guide the work of more than 100 federal connectivity programs (see 2206010068). Lujan and then-Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., subsequently filed the Proper Leadership to Align Networks (Plan) for Broadband Act to require the Biden administration to develop a national broadband strategy (see 2208040064). The GAO should “build upon” the findings of its 2022 study by determining “the effectiveness of each” federal, state and local broadband initiative, Lujan and Thune said in a letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. The study should ask whether each of the federal broadband programs “were established in line with Congress’ directive on the funding’s intended purpose.” They want GAO to determine whether the programs meet specific policy goals, the extent to which they overlap and how that affects each initiative’s success. The lawmakers want to know whether the FCC, NTIA, and the Agriculture and Treasury departments fulfilled agreements they made in a May 9 memorandum of understanding adopted in response to the GAO’s previous report and whether federal agencies have coordinated with state and local broadband programs. “Addressing weaknesses in each of these broadband programs will help ensure more Americans are connected to reliable broadband services,” Lujan and Thune said. GAO didn’t comment.

The House is set to vote as soon as Tuesday night on the Secure Space Act (HR-675) and three other satellite and spectrum-focused bills under suspension of the rules. The other measures on the docket: the Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act (HR-1339), Institute for Telecommunication Sciences Codification Act (HR-1343) and Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications Parity Act (HR-1353). HR-675 would bar the FCC from granting satellite licenses to any entity it identifies as a national security risk under the 2020 Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act. HR-1339 would require the FCC to review and potentially institute changes to satellite rules to promote precision agriculture. HR-1343 would provide statutory authority for ITS’ role in managing NTIA’s telecom and spectrum technology programs. HR-1353 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. The House Commerce Committee unanimously advanced all four bills last month (see 2303240065).

The House passed the Countering Untrusted Telecommunications Abroad Act (HR-1149) Wednesday night on a lopsided 410-8 vote. The measure, which the House previously passed in September (see 2209210049), would require publicly traded companies to disclose whether they contracted to use untrusted telecom equipment or services. It would also direct the State Department to report on U.S. collective defense allies using untrusted telecom equipment or services in their 5G networks. "For far too long, the world has stood by as Chinese telecoms giants operated as vehicles for the Chinese Communist Party to commit horrific human rights violations against the Uyghur people, conduct mass surveillance and espionage, and supply technology to other repressive regimes around the world," said lead HR-1149 sponsor Susan Wild, D-Pa. "Today, Congress sent a clear message that it would be tolerated no longer." Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan praised the House for passing HR-1149, but cautioned that "we cannot solve" potential use of untrusted equipment "domestically without Congress providing additional funds to fully complete the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program." Lawmakers proposed in a scuttled December spectrum legislative package to use some proceeds from future sales of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band and other frequencies to provide an additional $3.08 billion for the rip and replace program (see 2212190069).

CTIA, NTCA and eight other groups urged the leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services and Commerce committees Thursday “to restore FCC auction authority to safeguard our national security and promote our economic security with clear planning for future commercial spectrum opportunities.” The FCC’s mandate expired in March amid a Senate impasse on two competing bills to extend the remit that turned on related negotiations on a larger spectrum legislative package that Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., feared would result in a deal that would repurpose parts of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band for commercial use before DOD finishes a study of its systems on the frequency (see 2303090074). FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and other commissioners similarly encouraged Congress Wednesday to bring back the commission’s mandate (see 2304190069). “Congress has acted decisively to promote our national security and unlock domestic innovation with the CHIPS Act and similar efforts to promote U.S. and trusted allies in the wireless equipment market,” the groups said in a letter to Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I.; House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.; House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala.; and the panels’ ranking members. “A similar bipartisan effort is needed now to address spectrum policy, because we are at risk that key 5G innovations will be pushed overseas, particularly to China, if we do not recommit to a spectrum policy that ensures that both government and commercial interests have sufficient access to key spectrum bands.” China “is poised to have over 400 percent more 5G spectrum than the United States available for commercial use by 2027, and is working now to drive other nations to make available the same bands that are already available in China,” the groups said: Reauthorization will “safeguard our national security and promote our economic security with clear planning for future commercial spectrum opportunities.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected next week to mark up two pieces of legislation aimed at protecting children online. The committee on Thursday held over two bills that appeared on the agenda for the first time this year: the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (Earn It) Act (S-1207) and the Strengthening Transparency and Obligation to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act of 2023 (Stop CSAM Act). Introduced by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the Earn It Act removes online platforms’ “blanket immunity” under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act for violations of law on online child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The committee passed the bill by voice vote in 2022 (see 2202100071). The bill “imposes basic accountability on tech companies that are complicit in the sexual abuse and exploitation of children,” Blumenthal said in a statement. Reps. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., and Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, introduced companion legislation in the House. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., filed his Stop CSAM Act, which would expand the “federal civil cause of action for child victims to also permit victims of online child sexual exploitation to bring a civil cause of action against tech platforms and app stores” that promote or facilitate exploitation. Durbin told reporters Wednesday he’s “still working” on gaining Republican support for his bill. He said during Thursday’s markup that he’s looking forward to discussions about kids safety legislation in the coming weeks. He’s consulted Graham about the process and thinks the top Judiciary Republican agrees this is a “historic and significant, maybe one of the most important things we do during the course of this year.” The modernization of sentencing on this issue is “long overdue,” said Durbin. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation Wednesday urged Congress to pass the Earn It Act: “Congress never intended for Section 230 to permit and encourage online platforms to do nothing -- or worse -- facilitate the spread of CSAM.” Fight for the Future called the Earn It Act a “censorship and surveillance bill that risks the rights and safety of all who depend on encrypted services while making children less" safe. The bill “could lead to suspicionless scans of every online message, photo, and hosted file,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation said. “In the name of fighting crime, the Earn It Act treats all internet users like we should be in a permanent criminal lineup, under suspicion for child abuse.”

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and the other three commissioners appealed directly to the leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees to “restore” the commission’s lapsed spectrum auction authority. The FCC’s mandate expired in March amid a Senate impasse on two competing bills to extend the remit that turned on related negotiations on a larger spectrum legislative package that Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., feared would result in a deal that would repurpose parts of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band for commercial use before DOD finishes a study of its systems on the frequency (see 2303090074). “Restoring this authority will provide the United States with the strongest foundation to compete in a global economy, counter Chinese technology leadership ambitions, and safeguard our national security,” Rosenworcel and the other commissioners said in a letter released Wednesday to Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and their ranking members. The U.S. “cannot afford to wait. The global community will soon convene for another World Radiocommunication Conference,” Nov. 20-Dec. 15 in Dubai, “to determine the future of spectrum policy, and we must send a strong signal in advance of that meeting of our continued commitment to lead in coming generations of wireless technologies.” In previous years, Congress has always acted to extend the Commission’s auction authority without interruption,” the commissioners said. They said they need the authority so "we can once again use this authority in service of consumers, businesses, and national security.”

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., criticized the FCC Tuesday for not issuing T-Mobile licenses it bought in the 2022 2.5 GHz sale once the commission’s spectrum auction authority lapsed in March (see 2303220077). The FCC is effectively “a bottleneck” to U.S. work to continue to make spectrum available for wireless efforts,” which has become a national security issue due to competition with China to lead on 5G, Cline said during a House Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee hearing on the Commerce Department’s FY 2024 budget request. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo sidestepped the issue, saying she wasn’t “going to speak to what the FCC is doing or not doing.” It’s “very important to have spectrum available to advance innovation” and NTIA is working “hand in glove” with DOD “to make sure” it “has what it needs to advance its” priorities, she said. The FCC’s mandate expired in a Senate impasse on two competing bills to extend the remit that turned on related negotiations on a larger spectrum legislative package that Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., feared would result in a deal to repurpose parts of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band for commercial use before DOD finishes a study of its systems on the frequency (see 2303090074). “National defense also depends on America out-innovating our competitors and we need spectrum in order to move forward” on important commercial priorities, Raimondo said. The FCC didn't immediately comment.

Congress should ban members from using TikTok, Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., wrote in a letter Tuesday with Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas. Several members use TikTok and “effectively encourage their constituents to use the app even though all members have received warnings from their respective chamber’s cybersecurity officials,” they said. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and several other House Republicans signed the letter addressed to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Rules and House Administration committees: “We feel this situation warrants further action to protect the privacy of both sensitive congressional information and the personal information of our constituents. To that end, we urge you to enact a change to the Senate and House rules to ban members of Congress from using TikTok for official use.” The company didn’t comment.

The House was to vote as soon as Monday night under suspension of the rules on the Countering Untrusted Telecommunications Abroad Act (HR-1149). The measure, which the House previously passed in September (see 2209210049), would require publicly traded companies to disclose whether they contracted to use untrusted telecom equipment or services. It would also direct the State Department to report on U.S. collective defense allies using untrusted telecom equipment or services in their 5G networks.

The House Oversight Subcommittee will host a hearing April 19 on the “role of data brokers in the digital economy,” the House Commerce Committee announced Wednesday. The hearing is to start at 2 p.m. in 2322 Rayburn.