Cruz Considering DOTCOM Act Amendment Requiring IANA Transition Vote
The House was on track Tuesday to easily pass the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters (DOTCOM) Act (HR-805). Meanwhile, supporters of the bill’s Senate version (S-1551) were grappling behind the scenes with what they view as a problematic amendment that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is considering introducing ahead of the Senate Commerce Committee’s planned Thursday markup of S-1551. The House passed HR-805 Tuesday on a voice vote but a requested recorded vote wasn’t set to occur until after our deadline.
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Cruz’s amendment, which has circulated in draft form to other Senate Commerce members, would require Congress to hold an “up or down vote” on approving ICANN’s proposed Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition plan before NTIA could itself sign off on the plan and relinquish its oversight of the IANA functions, three industry lobbyists familiar with planning on S-1551 told us. Phil Corwin, principal of e-commerce and IP law consultancy Virtualaw, told us he’s also aware of Cruz’s consideration of the amendment. HR-805’s House-passed language, which is identical to S-1551’s, would give Congress 30 legislative days to review a report from NTIA certifying that ICANN’s IANA transition plan meets U.S. goals on maintaining Internet openness before NTIA could relinquish its IANA oversight authority.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and other Senate Commerce supporters of S-1551 were urging Cruz not to introduce the amendment, though it would likely be defeated at the Senate Commerce markup, one industry lobbyist said. Thune, S-1551’s main sponsor, views the Cruz draft as a potentially “gutting” amendment that would upset the careful DOTCOM Act compromise language negotiated in the House Communications Subcommittee earlier this month (see 1506090067), the lobbyist said. Cruz’s amendment, if brought to a vote, “would be opposed by all the [Senate Commerce] Democrats and [President Obama],” the industry lobbyist said. Senate Commerce leaders believe an up-or-down vote on the IANA transition might work “in a political vacuum,” but in reality “leaves us back where we are with the status quo, which folks believe is much worse,” the lobbyist said. Cruz’s office didn’t comment on whether he still plans to introduce the amendment.
Cruz has received support from some conservatives opposed to NTIA relinquishing its IANA oversight role, an industry lobbyist who supports clients opposed to the current version of the DOTCOM Act told us. Cruz’s amendment, if introduced, would be “a good test vote for members of [Senate Commerce] to see if they believe that Congress should have a say in the transition or not,” that lobbyist said. Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning told us he was aware there were discussions about a possible amendment and that ALG would support requiring an up or down vote on the IANA transition if it was proposed. “It’s pretty clear that moving the DOTCOM Act without making certain that you’re asserting that Congress has the authority to dispose of [its IANA oversight] or not, and without making that affirmative statement within the context of any DOTCOM Act I think is a monumental mistake,” he said. “I think the Senate would be making a monumental mistake by passing [S-1551] as written.” Manning had urged the House Tuesday not to consider HR-805 under suspension, saying in a blog post that it should instead “be brought up under normal order and allow for other members to have a say in its language.”
The House’s structuring of HR-805 “we think is the right approach,” and the Senate should advance language in S-1551 “as close as we can” to “what they’ve tried to do there,” Thune told reporters Tuesday before the House vote on HR-805. Thune said he wants to “try and get floor action on [S-1551] as soon as we can” after the Senate Commerce markup, though he noted that ICANN’s new estimate that the IANA transition may not occur until the end of June 2016 “helps.” ICANN’s new estimated timeline for the IANA transition (see 1506220053) shows “there’s some flexibility on their end,” which “takes away some of the sense of urgency” to enact the DOTCOM Act, Thune said. “But I think we want to move on this.”
House debate Tuesday on HR-805 was brief, with Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., and Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., both praising the bill and urging House passage. “This is an issue that has brought both sides together,” said Shimkus, HR-805’s main sponsor. The compromise version of HR-805 that cleared House Communications and House Commerce (see 1506170048) ensures Congress is able to have an oversight role in the IANA transition process, which is important because “we get one bite at the apple on this and we need to make sure this is done correctly,” Shimkus said. Pallone noted again that House consideration of HR-805 Tuesday was particularly important because of the ongoing ICANN meeting in Buenos Aires, at which the IANA transition planning process is the dominant topic of discussion (see 1506190061).