Lawmakers Say Spectrum, Privacy Have Chance in Split Congress
Legislators from both parties doubted a Capitol Hill deal on net neutrality is possible in the near term. But the lawmakers from the House and Senate were upbeat on spectrum and privacy action, at a Politico forum Thursday. Spectrum and privacy are also priorities for President Barack Obama, said U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra.
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"There is not consensus” in Congress on net neutrality, said House Communications Subcommittee member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. “I don’t even think the votes were there in the House” this year when Democrats controlled Congress, she said. In the next Congress, “I don’t think net neutrality is going to be taken up.” However, depending on who’s chairman of the Commerce Committee, a Telecom Act update “might be on the table,” she said. But it’s unclear what it would entail, she said.
"Kill it,” said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., of the effort to craft net neutrality legislation. The ranking member of the Senate Communications Subcommittee said he doesn’t see a problem that needs fixing. The controversial debate is wasting time when Congress could be dealing on a bipartisan basis with more important matters, like spectrum, privacy and Universal Service Fund reform, he said.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., still hopes for an industry deal resolving net neutrality, he said. Both sides of the debate have valid arguments, he said. Warner isn’t “as opposed” as others to reclassifying broadband under Title II of the Communications Act, he said. “That’s what’s governed … mobile communications and it’s been a relatively light touch."
Privacy could garner bipartisan agreement, said Ensign and Eshoo. “Privacy runs through the veins of every American,” Eshoo said. At the least, Congress should have hearings on privacy, said Ensign. “Having the Congress focus attention gets businesses to act in a more responsible way, and it’s always better if industry regulates itself” because it avoids “unintended consequences,” he said.
Spectrum policy is another bipartisan area, Warner said. “It’s a lot easier to get Democrats and Republicans to agree than it is to get spectrum engineers to agree.” The U.S. should move forward with an inventory and incentive auctions, he said. Revenue from those auctions should go toward funding a national network for public safety, he said.
Ensign cautioned Congress to “proceed very, very slowly” on cybersecurity, because the issue is so complex. “Once Congress acts, getting it to act again is sometimes infinitely more difficult.” Warner agreed that the “complexity is enormous.” It’s not an issue that the U.S. can do on its own, he added: Networks “know no boundaries, so the notion that we can fix this with an America-only solution makes no sense."
Eshoo said she hopes to soon pass the CALM Act (HR-1084), which would lower the volume of TV commercials to that of regular programming. It might be the most popular bill she’s written in 18 years in the House, Eshoo said. “I hope the concerns that the incoming majority [that] one member has can be ironed out, and that it can be brought to the floor of the House on the suspension calendar."
The Obama administration plans to engage Congress next year on privacy, patent reform and corporate taxation, Chopra told the forum earlier. Spectrum policy is another priority for the administration, Chopra said. Obama is committed to finding 500 MHz of spectrum from the public and private sectors, he said. Chopra emphasized that incentive auctions would be a “voluntary process.” The first use of proceeds from those auctions will be the public safety network, he said. A split Congress doesn’t make Chopra pessimistic because most technology issues aren’t “politically charged,” he said. On the contrary, bipartisan tech issues may actually be more prominent in a split Congress, he said.
Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., criticized the Obama administration for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which he said contributed to Democrats’ loss of the House. Wu chairs the Technology Subcommittee of the Science and Technology Committee. Asking Chopra a question from the audience, Wu said the Recovery Act showed a “lack of political foresight” by Congress and the administration because the American public hasn’t yet felt its effects.