Lawmakers, Groups Seek Funding for State Tech, Local Media in COVID-19 Bill
Lawmakers and groups drilled down Wednesday on tech and telecom provisions in an anticipated fourth major COVID-19 legislative package, including broadband funding and aid for local media. President Donald Trump renewed his interest Tuesday in including connectivity money in future pandemic-related bills (see 2004210060). He previously cited interest in pursuing $2 trillion in infrastructure spending as part of future aid legislation (see 2003310070).
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Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin emphasized their support for addressing broadband in a fourth COVID-19 bill. “We’re going to build our country back” in the measure, including via broadband, Trump said during a news conference. “The farmers have been treated terribly when it comes to the internet. So we're going to take care of that.” Trump supports a major infrastructure package and believes “there’s a lot of support” in Congress, “particularly for things like broadband,” Mnuchin said. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the next major bill should only move once the chamber is "back in session, fully up and running, with everybody involved in the discussion."
Ron Wyden of Oregon and 15 other senators urged the chamber’s leaders Wednesday to make federal digital resources like the U.S. Digital Service and Technology Transformation Service more available to state and local governments. The Democratic senators sought $50 million in emergency funding for OMB's Information Technology Oversight and Reform Fund and $25 million funding for the Federal Citizen Services Fund.
Leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and Congressional Native American Caucus want House leaders to include federal funding for local and ethnic media outlets. Other lawmakers supported a push by NAB and other media groups to include language in future legislation making broadcasters and other local outlets eligible for the SBA-administered Paycheck Protection Program (see 2004090066). Leaders should in part consider emergency funding and federal ad buys directed to ethic and local outlets, wrote the four Democratic lawmakers: CHC Chairman Joaquin Castro of Texas, CBC Chair Karen Bass of California, CAPAC Chair Judy Chu of California and CNAC co-Chair Deb Haaland of New Mexico. They also want CPB funding “to support national programming aimed at reaching African American, Latino, Asian Pacific American, and Native American audiences.”
The American Television Alliance urged Capitol Hill leaders to condition language in the next bill making broadcasters eligible for PPP funds with a requirement that recipient stations refrain from signal blackouts. “We do not believe that large broadcast conglomerates should be eligible for funding meant for small businesses in need of relief,” as ATVA recently stated (see 2004160063), an ATVA spokesperson said. “If Congress decides to allocate these critical tax dollars to major broadcasting groups, it should require that they not only provide their signals to all consumers, but also refrain from blacking out their signals to customers of any cable, telco, or satellite provider for three years.”
NAB “is disappointed” by ATVA’s request, said a spokesperson. “As ATVA attempts to exploit this global pandemic for political purposes, its Big Pay TV funders have cut off communication services for out-of-work customers, despite promises to the FCC, as well as ignoring obligations to provide local TV signals" in some markets (see 2004200065).