Senate Commerce Postpones Markup of Broadband Data Act Mapping Bill
The Senate Commerce Committee pulled the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (Data) Act from consideration before its planned Wednesday markup during a committee executive session. S-1822 is one of several measures seen as potentially influencing the direction of a yet-to-be-released FCC order on collecting more-granular broadband coverage data (see 1907050044). Commissioners are expected to vote on the pending order at their Aug. 1 meeting (see 1906120076).
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Senate Commerce unanimously advanced three other tech-related measures Wednesday and voted 14-12 to advance for confirmation FAA Administrator nominee Stephen Dickson. The tech-centric bills were the Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act (S-153), Blockchain Promotion Act (S-553) and Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things (Digit) Act (S-1611). S-153 would require the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish an interagency working group to coordinate federal programs on training and transitioning military veterans to jobs in science, tech, engineering and math. S-553 would direct the Commerce Department to create a working group of federal and private sector stakeholders to establish a common definition of blockchain. The group also would make recommendations on a joint FCC-NTIA study to examine blockchain's potential impact on spectrum policy (see 1906130029). S-1611 would convene a working group of federal entities and stakeholders to provide recommendations to Congress on how to facilitate growth of IoT technologies.
“We found a few wrinkles” with S-1822 “that had to be ironed out” before Senate Commerce could consider the measure, bill sponsor and committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us after the meeting. The bill was simply “not quite ready,” but there weren't any indications other senators object to it, he said. Meeting agendas “are always subject to change until the actual day of the markup,” a Senate Commerce spokesperson said. S-1822 would require the FCC issue rules to collect more “granular” broadband coverage data and create a “user-friendly challenge process” (see 1906130029).
Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., a S-1822 co-sponsor, told us he wasn't sure what specifically prompted the markup delay but suspects “people [were] not quite comfortable yet with where the bill is at.” Thune hopes any revisions are completed in time for the measure to “make it onto the next markup.”
Communications sector lobbyists we spoke with were also unsure what led Senate Commerce to delay considering S-1822. They noted widespread ire from Capitol Hill on FCC broadband mapping practices (see 1905150061). Public Knowledge Senior Policy Counsel Phillip Berenbroick said before the Senate Commerce meeting that several senators' offices had sought the group's feedback on the bill. A telecom lobbyist said there may have been some push for the committee to wait to act on S-1822 before at least a draft of the FCC order circulates.