Latta Bill Would Authorize Incentive Auctions, But Talks Continue
The FCC would be allowed to do voluntary incentive auctions under a House bill introduced late Friday by Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio. The narrowly written bill (HR-1622), which would split proceeds between licensees and the U.S. Treasury, is the first incentive auction bill from a House Commerce Committee Republican. However, the committee is expected to have at least two more spectrum hearings before agreeing to any legislation. Industry lobbyists said budget talks are likely to determine the House’s pace.
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The three-page Latta bill would amend the Communications Act to authorize the FCC to share a percentage of auction revenue with a licensee who “voluntarily” relinquishes “some or all” of its spectrum. The commission would determine the percentage, and send the rest of the money to the U.S. Treasury. The Latta bill requires the FCC to make incentive auction rules within a year of the bill’s enactment. Like previous incentive auction bills that have been offered, Latta’s includes a section saying the FCC may not mandate that a licensee give up its spectrum.
Latta hopes his bill “will be part of the discussion” at future spectrum hearings planned by the committee, a Latta spokeswoman said. Latta has discussed the bill with Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., a Latta spokeswoman said. Walden said last week that there would be at least “a couple” more spectrum hearings before the committee moved to legislation (CD April 13 p3). The bill has no cosponsors, but Latta plans to send a “Dear Colleague” letter to other members in “the next few weeks” with the hope of adding more names to the bill, she said. Given recent comments by Walden that he’s not yet ready to write a bill, HR-1622 seems more like a move by Latta to ensure he has a place at the table, a broadcast industry lobbyist said.
"In order to meet tomorrow’s high volume of mobile data, it is imperative we allow the [FCC] to conduct voluntary incentive auctions,” Latta said in a written statement. “Passing this measure would permit the wireless broadband industry to grow, increasing U.S. jobs, productivity and innovation.” Committee member John Barrow, D-Ga., had introduced a similar bill (HR-911), but Barrow’s would require an FCC spectrum inventory before authorizing incentive auctions. Barrow supports “all efforts that would free up valuable spectrum using voluntary incentive actions and having the proceeds go toward paying down the national debt, and he looks forward to working with all members to see that these ideas stay on track to becoming law,” a Barrow spokesman told us in an email.
Some wireless providers supported the Latta bill, but NAB declined comment. “The Wireless Broadband Coalition supports fiscally-responsible, voluntary incentive auction authority for the FCC,” said Coalition Executive Director David Taylor.
Wireless and broadcast industry lobbyists agreed that spectrum will likely be a key part of budget talks since auctions would raise revenue for the government. The upcoming May 16 debt limit is expected to spur budget negotiations, but the U.S. Treasury could keep the government running another eight weeks barring an immediate agreement. “It’s hard to see how spectrum legislation moves forward in the absence of a budget agreement,” a wireless industry lobbyist said. When talks get going, each Congressional committee is likely to get a budget number they will need to meet, and spectrum could be a key part of the equation for Commerce, a broadcast lobbyist said. Additional spectrum hearings are likely in May and June, with the real work starting in July, the lobbyist said.
Other issues may also affect support for a spectrum bill. Monday in San Jose, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said Congress probably won’t give the FCC any more power, including auction authority, until it overturns the agency’s net neutrality order (see separate report in this issue).
The brevity of the Latta bill highlights a fine line that Congress must straddle “between providing some detail to the FCC as to how they would like this to be done to ensure that adequate revenues come back to the Treasury but not providing so much micro-management that they don’t leave the actual running of this” to the commission, said a wireless industry lobbyist.