Timeline for House Commerce Markup of FCC Reauthorization Act Unclear Amid Negotiations
The House Commerce Committee's timeline for marking up the FCC Reauthorization Act remains up in the air amid behind-the-scenes negotiations on proposed amendments to the bill before its formal introduction, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. The House Communications Subcommittee last month cleared a draft of the bill by Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., after staff reached a compromise to remove several controversial provisions. House Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., at the time said he was willing to work with ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and others on ways to incorporate language allocating additional funding for repacking reimbursements into a final bill (see 1710100066 and 1710110070).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Walden told us Monday it's unclear when House Commerce will mark up the legislation given the committee's work on the repacking issue and others. Blackburn told reporters earlier this month she hoped her bill would be ready for markup before Thanksgiving. “It's too early” to know when the committee will mark up Blackburn's bill given that staff is still “working on a few things” sought as additions to the final text, including the repacking funds language, Walden said. Communications lobbyists also pointed to bogged-down talks. One telecom lobbyist said House Commerce is “not close” to reaching agreement.
“We're still waiting for a clear view of how much money will be needed” beyond the existing $1.75 billion included in the Broadcaster Relocation Fund, Walden said. “There's a recognition all the way around that more needs to be done, but nobody has a clear sense of how much that additional amount should be. There's still money in the fund that they can pay out on a pro-rated basis and then we'll move forward. The range [of additional needed funding] is a pretty big one.” Pallone and House Communications ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., have sought the addition of repacking language from their Viewer Protection Act (HR-3347), which would allocate an additional $1 billion (see 1707200051).
House Commerce is also considering whether to include the text of the Small Entity Regulatory Relief Opportunity Act (HR-3787) in Blackburn's bill, lobbyists said. Walden said he wasn't “ready to comment” on where negotiations stood on the language, which House Digital Commerce Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, sought to attach to FCC reauthorization legislation. HR-3787 would allow entities that qualify as small businesses under Small Business Administration rules to seek regulatory relief from FCC rules through waiver petitions and would allow a one-year grace period after a new regulation takes effect for larger businesses for that new rule to apply to qualifying entities. The American Cable Association, ITTA, NTCA and other industry groups also seek the addition (see 1711130051).
Proposed addition of HR-3787's language could be a sticking point for House Commerce Democrats, a telecom lobbyist said. Democrats are leery about opening up the possibility that the bill could be used to relieve small entities from reporting requirements that they view as important for data collection for programs like the National Broadband Map, one Democratic lobbyist said. “They'd be losing data for the very areas that lack service,” which tend to be the areas where small providers operate, the lobbyist said. Lobbyists pointed to ongoing questions about whether a quick markup is needed on Blackburn's bill, since Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said he didn't anticipate the committee would be ready to mark up a Senate version of rechartering this year (see 1709060048).