Small Entity Regulatory Relief Opportunity Act Gets House Communications Democrats' Criticism
The Small Entity Regulatory Relief Opportunity Act (HR-3787) got most criticism during a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee hearing, as expected (see 1803210035). Some subcommittee Democrats raised concerns about the draft Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (Pirate) Act. The National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act (HR-2345) and Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act (HR-2903) got universal praise from lawmakers. Some, including Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., trumpeted inclusion of the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services (Ray Baum's) Act FCC reauthorization and spectrum legislative package (HR-4986) in the FY 2018 omnibus spending bill. The House passed the measure Thursday 256-167 (see 1803210068 and 1803220048).
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House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., blasted HR-3787. It would let entities that qualify as small businesses under Small Business Administration rules seek relief from FCC rules through waiver petitions and would allow qualifying entities a one-year grace period once any new regulations take effect for larger businesses (see 1710110070). “Given the current FCC's animosity for consumer protections, I do not think this is the right time for Congress to encourage the agency to strip away more safeguards for millions of people,” Pallone said. HR-3787 “would open up a huge regulatory hole at the FCC and would enable companies with over $1 billion in revenue to be exempted from a wide range of rules intended to protect consumers and, to be honest, small businesses as well,” Doyle said. New America's Open Technology Institute Director-Open Internet Policy Sarah Morris opposed the bill, as expected.
Blackburn led Republicans' support for HR-3787, saying it would “spur investment" in broadband infrastructure because “small entities across the country, regardless of technology, face miles of red tape at the FCC to comply with regulations designed for large providers.” House Digital Commerce Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, a HR-3787 lead sponsor, said it “offers a pathway for regulatory relief for small entities by directing the FCC to streamline their existing waiver process. This will benefit small business and their customers by providing greater certainty, fewer costs, and administrative efficiency.” Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., HR-3787's other lead sponsor, believes the bill could help expand rural broadband deployments by eliminating the effects of “burdensome regulations” on small businesses. Many of those companies “don't have the resources or flora of lawyers to file petition after petition with the FCC,” he said. Competitive Carriers Association Senior Vice President-Legislative Affairs Tim Donovan and MCTV President Robert Gessner backed the bill.
Doyle isn't fully convinced that “anecdotes that there's a problem on the rise in major cities like New York and Miami” with illegal pirate radio operations fully justify the need for the Pirate Act, which would increase fines for illegal pirate operations from $10,000 per violation to $100,000 per day per violation, up to a maximum of $2 million. It would streamline FCC enforcement to empower state and local law enforcement agencies' to undertake anti-pirate operations. “We need to balance the legitimate concerns of broadcast licensees with the limited opportunities for expression available to some communities,” Doyle said. “My hope is as we consider this bill, we can take an approach that addresses both groups' needs.”
Reps. Paul Tonko, one of the Pirate Act's main sponsors, and Eliot Engel, both D-N.Y., supported the bill. “I have several serious concerns with pirate radio and the weakness of current enforcement” efforts, which have “encouraged pirate radio operators to continue undeterred,” Tonko said. New York State Broadcasters Association President David Donovan backed the bill.
Rep. Pete Olson, R-Texas, and many other lawmakers backed HR-2345. The bill and Senate-passed companion S-1015 would direct the FCC to work to designate a new national three-digit dialing code in the style of 911 for use as a mental health crisis and suicide prevention hotline. “The first line of defense” to prevent suicide “can be a robust, 24-7, crisis support services for all Americans, in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and all U.S. territories, accessible by phone hotline, chat and text,” said American Foundation for Suicide Chief Public Policy Officer John Madigan.
Doyle and other lawmakers praised HR-2903, though Doyle also cited the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow's America Act (HR-2479) and his Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (Airwaves) Act (HR-4953/S-1682) as additional ways of increasing rural broadband deployments (see 1706020056, 1708010069 and 1802070054). HR-2903 and Senate companion S-2418 would direct the FCC to establish a national standard for deciding whether fixed and mobile broadband services in rural areas are “reasonably comparable” to urban services (see 1802130057). Competitive Carriers Association Senior Vice President-Legislative Affairs Tim Donovan backed HR-2903.