Senate Democrats Rally Behind Rockefeller Spectrum Bill
Four Democratic senators pushed public safety legislation by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., at a news conference with Rockefeller Tuesday morning. A bipartisan draft of the comprehensive spectrum legislation written by Rockefeller and Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, circulated Friday and the committee may vote on it at a scheduled May 25 markup (CD May 17 p1). At an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation lunch later in the day, National Broadband Plan architect Blair Levin said he wished legislators were not tying voluntary incentive auctions to the public safety network effort.
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Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, as well as Commerce Committee Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Barbara Boxer of California urged passage of S-911 before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Rockefeller’s bill would give the 700 MHz D-block to public safety, paying for the network using some of the proceeds from voluntary incentive auctions at the FCC. “This is the year we will pass this bill,” said Gillibrand. Schumer said that 9/11 proved that “communications systems for first responders is every bit as critical for their wellbeing as bulletproof vests and oxygen tanks.” The Rockefeller bill is a “win-win all around,” because it costs taxpayers nothing and reduces the deficit, Boxer said. Klobuchar said the bill will ensure that “the next manhunt that occurs for a killer isn’t hampered by 10 different radios.”
Rockefeller doesn’t have “any fear at all that when it comes down to it everybody will come together” to pass the legislation, including the House, he said. His “main worry” is that one senator will object and hold up the legislation from moving through the unanimous consent process, Rockefeller said. Rockefeller said he and Hutchison still have “one or two issues” to work out before introducing their bill, but he’s sure they will find agreement. Gillibrand noted that last year’s public safety healthcare bill started out with only Democratic cosponsors, ending up with unanimous support.
Current law requires the FCC to auction the D-block. Asked whether he is asking the FCC to wait, Rockefeller said, “There’s not much they can do until we pass a bill. I mean, they can plan, and they're doing that. But no one’s ever built a system quite like this.” The commission is “really for” the public safety bill, “and they don’t always jump for things,” he added.
Rockefeller stressed that incentive auctions will be voluntary under his bill. It is “no government takeover,” he said. At an ITIF lunch across the Capitol, Levin said it’s “unfortunate” that lawmakers are linking incentive auctions to public safety and other spectrum reform efforts. He would rather see stand-alone incentive auction legislation, he said. “You don’t need comprehensive reform,” he said. “You need one-sentence reform.” It’s easier to pass one or two small things compared to comprehensive legislation, he said.
Congress should find as many “small things” as possible to put together and pass, countered Mathew Hussey, aide to Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. Incentive auctions are not the “golden key” to solve all spectrum problems, he said. A comprehensive spectrum inventory is an important first step, and providing market incentives to improve spectral efficiency is critical, he said. There’s no incentive to improve receiver standards, for example, and the FCC may not have authority to set those standards, he said.
There are already “plenty of incentives in the market to use spectrum efficiently,” said Levin. “The question is how do you reallocate spectrum that’s been allocated for certain things.” Incentive auctions would allow the market to “constantly reallocate spectrum to its highest and best use by allowing existing providers some incentive to put the spectrum back,” he said. The incentive auction process is likely to improve over time, said Neeta Bidwai, aide to Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. The FCC likely will hold incentive auctions for mobile satellite service before broadcasters, Bidwai said. That will give the commission time to hone its approach before getting to broadcast spectrum, which will be “more complicated,” she said.