Digital First Project Executive Director Nathan Leamer on Wednesday said whoever chairs the FCC during the next administration should take on a more forceful role in advocating for Congress to renew the commission’s lapsed spectrum auction authority. Leamer, who served as an aide to former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, said during a Georgetown University Center for Business and Public Policy webcast that whichever party wins the White House Nov. 5 will reexamine broadband affordability issues. He believes the FCC will have to brace for the impact of potential federal court rulings striking down its recent orders reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title II service and instituting anti-digital discrimination rules.

Congressional Democratic leaders remain intent on attaching funding to restore the FCC’s lapsed affordable connectivity program to a year-end legislative package (see 2409170066). Some lawmakers acknowledge the push faces long odds in what’s likely to be a fraught lame-duck session. Some ACP boosters believe Capitol Hill’s lame-duck dynamics could change depending on the outcome of the Nov. 5 election. GOP lawmakers aren’t enthusiastic about attaching ACP money to a legislative vehicle this year, in part citing their longstanding demand for a major overhaul of the program in conjunction with additional funding.

With Congress back for a three-week sprint before Election Day, Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan remains convinced lawmakers will fully fund a program that removes unsecure gear from U.S. networks. In an interview, Donovan also said he expects at least some groups will seek reconsideration of the FCC’s recent order creating a 5G Fund.

Maurine and Matthew Molak filed a petition Thursday seeking review of a July FCC order that lets schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2407180024), in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Molaks previously sought reconsideration of the July order, which three public interest groups and T-Mobile opposed last week (see 2408280029).

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, latched on to a new Government Accountability Office report about the Universal Service Administrative Company’s handling of the Universal Service Fund to criticize the program’s spending and repeat his call for Congress to make USF subject to the federal appropriations process (see 2403060090). Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, meanwhile, told us earlier this month that Congress must prioritize a legislative fix for the USF contribution mechanism after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' recent ruling that the current funding factor is unconstitutional (see 2407240043).

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez hasn’t expressed an opinion on edge providers contributing to the Universal Service Fund (see 2408190056). She has expressed interest in the work of the bicameral, bipartisan USF working group, which includes the concept of assessing digital advertising services and enterprise-oriented data services, such as cloud services.

ASPEN -- Finding a way to restore the affordable connectivity program (ACP) is a high priority for the end of 2024 and social media-related advertising revenue could provide potential solutions, FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Anna Gomez said Monday.

Don’t expect major daylight between a Kamala Harris administration and the Joe Biden White House on major communications policy issues, industry and policy experts predicted. Much focus and effort would center on defending the FCC's net neutrality and digital discrimination orders in the current federal circuit court challenges, as well as pursuing net neutrality rules, they said. Less clear would be the nature of the relationship between Harris' White House and Big Tech. The Harris campaign didn't comment. Deregulation and undoing net neutrality are considered high on the to-do list for the administration of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump if he's elected (see 2407110034).

The objective of Consumers' Research was getting a case about the Universal Service Fund contribution methodology before the U.S. Supreme Court. That case resulted in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' recent 9-7 en banc decision that found the contribution factor is a "misbegotten tax," legal experts said during a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition webinar Wednesday. The 5th Circuit remanded the contribution factor for Q1 2022 to the FCC for further work.

The Senate Appropriations Committee's report on its Financial Services Subcommittee FY 2025 funding bill “urges” that the FCC move forward on revamping the Universal Service Fund. The Senate Appropriations Financial Services bill, which the panel approved Thursday, would increase annual funding for the FCC and FTC for FY25 (see 2408010059). Senate Appropriations said in the report, released Thursday night, that it wants the FCC to “seek public comment this fiscal year on any reform proposals that have been submitted to the commission or otherwise previously considered that would promote the sustainability and viability of [USF] and resolve inequities in the current contribution structure.” The FCC should “act as soon as possible following review of that record to adopt reforms to achieve” revamp objectives, Senate Appropriations said: The commission “should also provide specific recommendations to Congress regarding additional authority it believes it may need to enact any reforms that are found to be prudent, advisable, or necessary.” Members of a congressional working group are grappling with whether the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ July ruling that the FCC's USF contribution factor is unconstitutional will affect their work on a revamp framework (see 2407300053).