House Passes Ray Baum's Act FCC Reauthorization, Spectrum Bill
The House passed the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services (Ray Baum's) Act FCC reauthorization and spectrum legislative package (HR-4986) on a voice vote Tuesday, as expected (see 1803010056 and 1803050043). The bill includes a revised version of language from the Senate-passed Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless (Mobile Now) Act (S-19) spectrum bill, as part of an agreement announced Friday between the leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees (see 1708030060). HR-4986's path to enactment remained unclear. Backers on Capitol Hill told us they were working with members of the House and Senate Appropriations committees to attach the bill to the FY 2018 omnibus spending bill.
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House Commerce Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and other committee members spoke on the House floor in support of HR-4986, framing their debate in part as a tribute to recently deceased committee Staff Director Ray Baum. The committee renamed HR-4986 in his honor shortly after his death last month (see 1802090018 and 1802140064). House and Senate Commerce leaders' bipartisan agreement on HR-4986 “reflects admirably” on Baum's legacy and is a “product of sound policy,” Walden said. The bill is “a real tribute” to Baum, who “was an eternal optimist,” Pallone said.
Baum helped Commerce and its Communications Subcommittee “push this forward” and the bipartisan agreement on the bill reflects his legacy, said subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. Ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., also praised HR-4986 on the floor as a bipartisan “good-faith effort,” but he and some other committee Democrats pointedly referred to language in the bill that would make the FCC Office of Inspector General wholly independent of the agency. The provision “sends a strong bipartisan, bicameral message” to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai that he can't interfere with OIG investigations, Doyle said. The OIG recently accepted a request by Pallone and other committee Democrats to investigate Pai's actions on rulemakings that potentially benefited Sinclair's proposed buy of Tribune. Pai refused to recuse himself from reviewing the deal (see 1802150031 and 1802200062).
Walden and Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., separately told us before the vote that they were continuing to work with appropriators to add the bill's language to the omnibus. “We're hoping that there's a package” that appropriators can agree to, Thune said. “Our job is to move the authorizing legislation and then it's up to the appropriators,” Walden said. The FCC also urged the Hill to allocate additional incentive auction repack funding, including via a memo that warned that a lack of further appropriations could hurt broadcasters and had the potential to hurt the deployment of 5G networks. Pai attended the Senate Republicans' Tuesday lunch, before House passage of HR-4986.
Appropriators “understand the importance” of HR-4986, including language from the Viewer Protection Act (HR-3347) to authorize additional repack funding, Walden said. The House Commerce-cleared version of HR-4986 didn't delineate a specific amount of funding it would add to supplement the $1.75 billion currently allocated in the Broadcaster Relocation Fund. Thune and Walden both told us they anticipate a final version of the bill will allocate an additional $1 billion. “Most people would agree it's going to cost” around that amount, Walden said. “I think that's probably what it's going to take” to fully fund the repack, though Walden was driving the push for the $1 billion figure, Thune said.
House and Senate Appropriations members we spoke with Monday and Tuesday weren't opposed to adding HR-4986's language into the omnibus but said the prospects for inclusion were unclear. Lawmakers are seeking to attach many bills to the omnibus and “I just don't know yet” whether HR-4986 has enough bipartisan support to make the cut, said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of the Appropriations and Commerce committees. He cited FAA reauthorization language as a stronger certainty for inclusion at this point. The omnibus route remains very much in play, but “I don't think anyone's decided yet what the best approach is” for enacting HR-4986, said a House aide: “We are willing to take whatever vehicle we can to get there,” with any differences on the best move forward not reflecting a partisan split.
“We're focused on getting the omnibus finished and put to bed in time” to get it through Congress by March 23, when the current continuing resolution to fund the federal government expires, said Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas. “We're trying to keep things as simple and straight-forward as possible.” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told House Republicans Tuesday he may pursue a floor vote on the omnibus next week in a bid to forestall any additional brinksmanship before the March 23 deadline, Hill aides said. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters he would support an early omnibus vote if the measure contains sufficient bipartisan provisions.