Forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok is the right move and will withstand legal challenges, Senate Democrats and Republicans told us Tuesday as the chamber cleared the first procedural hurdle in approving the provision in the FY 2024 national security appropriations supplemental package (see 2404220049 and 2404190042).
Reps. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., filed dueling bills Friday to cut off federal money for NPR and “any successor organization” in response to recent claims of pro-Democratic political bias at the broadcasting network. Both lawmakers named their bills the Defund NPR Act. Tenney’s legislation would also direct CPB to claw back advance allocations for NPR for fiscal years 2024, 2025 and 2026 to “reduce the public debt.” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is also eyeing legislation to kill NPR's federal funding. The network has drawn increased ire from conservative media organizations over its disciplining of now-former editor Uri Berliner for publishing an essay criticizing the organization for appearing to stray into open advocacy against former President Donald Trump and other conservatives. Berliner resigned Wednesday after NPR suspended him without pay for five days. NPR CEO Katherine Maher, who took that job March 25, has been a focus of criticism in the wake of Berliner’s resignation and her own past support for President Joe Biden’s 2020 election over Trump. NPR “has been a liberal propaganda machine for years” and Congress shouldn’t appropriate it “another dime,” Banks said in a Fox News opinion piece. “American taxpayers should not be forced to fund NPR, which has become a partisan propaganda machine,” Tenney said. Congress allocated CPB $535 million in advance funding for FY 2026 as part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act FY 2024 minibus spending package Biden signed in March (see 2403210067). House Appropriations Committee Republicans unsuccessfully attempted to end CPB's advance funding as part of FY24 spending legislation (see 2307140069). Biden is proposing to increase CPB’s advance funding to $595 million for FY 2027 (see 2403110056), while the House Republican Study Committee wants to fully end that allocation. Past attempts to end NPR's part of CPB federal funding have failed, including a bid during the FY24 cycle by Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas (see 2311030069).
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.
The House on Friday voted to renew the intelligence community’s foreign surveillance authority for two years (see 2404100069). The vote was 273-147, with 147 Democrats and 126 Republicans in favor. An amendment that would have added a warrant requirement to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act narrowly failed 212-212, with 128 Republicans and 84 Democrats voting in favor.
House Republicans on Wednesday tanked a procedural vote that would have allowed debate on legislation reauthorizing intelligence agencies’ surveillance authority (see 2404090055). Nineteen Republicans joined Democrats in voting down a rule that would have allowed the lower chamber to consider reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and an amendment that would have added a warrant requirement to the statute. The House voted 193-228 against the measure. That followed a Wednesday post from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who urged members to “KILL FISA,” claiming it was used to interfere with his campaign. Republicans voting against the rule included Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and Chip Roy (Texas). House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Wednesday that Trump is “not wrong, of course. They abused FISA.” He noted, however, that reforms in the proposal would create criminal and civil penalties for documented abuse. The Trump administration relied on Section 702 to “kill terrorists,” Johnson said. Section 702 is set to expire April 19.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management released a final rule Thursday intended to clarify and reinforce protections for career civil servants and defend against future versions of former President Donald Trump’s Schedule F executive order (see 2010300048). “This final rule honors our 2.2 million career civil servants, helping ensure that people are hired and fired based on merit and that they can carry out their duties based on their expertise and not political loyalty,” OPM Director Kiran Ahuja said in a news release. Trump’s Schedule F order, which was reversed in the first week of President Joe Biden’s administration, would have reclassified many career civil servants, making it easier to terminate them and transfer their positions to political appointees. Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party have announced detailed plans -- partially authored by FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr -- to make sweeping changes to federal agencies, including the FCC, during a second Trump term. Thursday’s final rule is aimed at preventing another Schedule F order, and clarifies that a career federal employee who has earned civil service protections retains them until the worker voluntarily waives them. The order also establishes a transparent, appealable process for changing which positions receive civil service protections. “With these regulations, President Biden’s administration has strengthened the guardrails around the merit-based civil service,” said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald in a release. “It will now be much harder for any president to arbitrarily remove the nonpartisan professionals who staff our federal agencies just to make room for hand-picked partisan loyalists.” An “independent federal workforce ensures that our government works for all of us, not for one party or one person,” said Bitsy Skerry, regulatory policy associate for Public Citizen, in an emailed release. The final rule will be published in the Federal Register Tuesday, OPM said.
The EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council will likely continue if former President Donald Trump is reelected, European Commission officials said during a Wednesday briefing. The sixth TTC meeting will occur Thursday and Friday in Leuven, Belgium. It's the last of this political cycle, given U.S. and European elections later in the year. The EC doesn't expect too much disruption of TTC's work, which includes deliverables on 6G, platforms, standardization, AI and quantum computing, officials said. In response to our question about how the TTC can future-proof itself in the face of a possible second Trump presidency, one official cautioned against making too many projections on election results now. The EC believes a "critical mass" of activities has occurred in TTC working groups, demonstrating the importance of these issues for both sides. Regardless of the political situation, the official added, in the technology market, if a country wants to be serious about AI, semiconductor chips and other matters, it would be "foolish" to think it can do it alone. In fact, the official said, the TTC concept is attributed to Trump, who called for talks on trade and technology. Asked whether there's anything the TTC could do if this week's sessions are its final meetings, a second official said the council has shown a good deal of scope for cooperation, something that's politically attractive to both sides and is underpinned by the massive trans-Atlantic trade relationship. A third official noted the EC is building a structured process to prepare for the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. As such, meetings will take stock of previous agreements and discuss pre-election activities, officials said. The TTC has already achieved a great deal, such as helping coordinate trans-Atlantic responses to Russia's attack on Ukraine and creating a relationship for cooperation in the green marketplace, they said. Members will discuss a sustainable and resilient trans-Atlantic marketplace, which will result in a joint declaration on electronic invoicing and an agreement to continue working on digital tools to simplify the relationship; economic security issues such as investment screening and outbound investment; secure and resilient supply chains; and trade and labor issues. The council is also focused on critical materials; it will launch a security forum on minerals after the meeting. In addition, a joint statement will review what the TTC has achieved and discuss its next steps. "As long-time allies and close trading partners, the EU and the U.S. have the chance to set the tone for the next mandate of each partner, making it the 'mandate of cooperation,'" the Computer and Communications Industry Association said separately. However, it added, the time for the council to serve as a meaningful venue to address ongoing burdens U.S. suppliers face in the EU market "is running out."
DOD on Wednesday released a redacted version of the Emerging Mid-Band Radar Spectrum Sharing Feasibility Assessment (EMBRSS), which DOD and NTIA forwarded to Congress in September (see 2309280087). The report examines military systems located in lower 3 GHz spectrum, with an eye on potential sharing but not on clearing as sought by CTIA and carriers.
NTIA appears to be putting the finishing touches on its Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, with a meeting expected as early as June, industry officials told us. But NTIA reportedly hasn’t notified members that they have been selected to participate.
ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development announces new commissioners, including FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel; Abel Avellan, CEO-AST SpaceMobile; Mark Dankberg, CEO-Viasat; Shameel Joosub, CEO-Vodacom; Isabelle Mauro, director general-Global Satellite Operator’s Association; and Deemah AlYahya, secretary general-Digital Cooperation Organization... Phillips Lytle names partner Richard Marinaccio to lead law firm’s newly launched AI practice team ... Brown Gibbons Lang investment bank and financial advisory firm adds Stifel’s Jason Myler as a managing director within its tech team.