House Could Spoil Goal to Pass S-911 by 9/11 Anniversary, Senate Aides Say
Finishing public safety network legislation before Sept. 11 will be a challenge, said Senate GOP aides at an event Thursday hosted by Politico and Microsoft. The Senate Commerce Committee approved the spectrum bill (CD June 9 p2) by Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, on Wednesday. But the bill must still get floor time in the Senate and win over House Commerce Committee Republicans who are skeptical of giving away the 700 MHz D-block for free to public safety, the aides said. Also at the event, an FCC aide provided an update on the agency’s work revamping the Universal Service Fund.
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Hutchison and Rockefeller are “committed” to passing their spectrum bill (S-911) before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, but it won’t be easy, said Hutchison telecom aide David Quinalty. While most telecom bills are passed on unanimous consent, there’s enough interest in S-911 to bring it to a full debate on the Senate floor, Quinalty said. The House “maybe isn’t there yet,” but the senators hope to show them a “path” for a bipartisan bill, he said. If the only major disagreement between House and Senate spectrum legislation is what to do with the D-block, the two chambers could do a conference to work out their differences, he said. The bill would complete a goal of the 9/11 commission and reduce the deficit by at least $10 billion, Quinalty noted. “How does Congress not pass that bill?"
The Rockefeller bill could certainly pass in the Senate before 9/11, but it will be “much more difficult” to move through the House, said Matthew Hussey, telecom aide to Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. How the bill is scored by the Congressional Budget Office for potential costs and/or revenue will influence many members’ opinions of the bill, he said. Snowe voted against the bill in markup. While she supported its goals, Snowe had concerns about funding and how well the bill would serve rural areas, Hussey said. Snowe also wanted the bill to do more to ensure interoperability. The senator will continue an “open dialogue” with the committee, Hussey said.
The comprehensive spectrum bill should not foreclose the possibility of smaller stand-alone spectrum bills moving through the Senate, Hussey said. “Hopefully there are options to do that.” The focus has been on wireless broadband, but there are other radio-based services, he noted. Besides spectrum, Senate Commerce could get involved with FCC reform and oversight of the commission’s USF rulemaking, Hussey said. Snowe has talked to a few House offices about revamping the FCC, Hussey said. Hussey and Quinalty also mentioned cybersecurity and privacy as issues that could see action.
Hutchison has not abandoned her joint resolution of disapproval against the FCC net neutrality order, and it remains one of her top priorities, Quinalty said. But while the House has already passed a resolution of disapproval of the net neutrality decision, Hutchison believes the Senate can’t move forward until the FCC order appears in the Federal Register, Quinalty said. He added that it will be tough to get any reprimand of the FCC through this Congress.
The FCC is looking to issue a Universal Service Fund revamp order in “the next few months,” said Zachary Katz, aide to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Katz confirmed that the commission is also considering a Lifeline/Link-Up order to eliminate duplicate payments (CD June 9 p14). That order should come out “very soon,” Katz said. The FCC also plans to finish a report on broadband speeds in the “very near future.” The FCC’s findings will inform the agency’s work on USF and consumer disclosures, he said.