Senate Republicans are eyeing agreeing to more broadband money in an infrastructure deal, and issues remain unresolved, Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi told us. He was among GOP legislators who met Tuesday with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on a GOP counterproposal to President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, which includes $100 billion for broadband (see 2103310064). “We’re looking at” increasing the broadband spending Republicans agree to, Wicker told us. He suggested add-ons could include additional money to “speed up” FCC rollout of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund money and to “speed up” fixing its broadband coverage data maps. He’s “listening but skeptical of the administration’s position about going through NTIA” to distribute additional broadband money allocated here. Much “hasn’t been fully negotiated,” Wicker said. He and Public Works Committee ranking member Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said they were encouraged by the meeting and believe they’re getting closer to an agreement with the administration. The Republicans’ original counteroffer allocated $65 billion for broadband (see 2105180070). Buttigieg and Raimondo are “digesting what we proposed, and I think the plan is for them to react to that” soon, Capito told reporters. The White House expects to “follow up with” the Republicans “later this week,” a spokesperson said. The Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility (E-Bridge) Act, which Capito and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., refiled Wednesday, would remove regulatory barriers to Economic Development Administration grants for broadband deployments in a way that would allow localities to partner with the private sector (see 2005070055).
Jimm Phillips
Jimm Phillips, Associate Editor, covers telecommunications policymaking in Congress for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications News in 2012 after stints at the Washington Post and the American Independent News Network. Phillips is a Maryland native who graduated from American University. You can follow him on Twitter: @JLPhillipsDC
Telecom-focused Democratic lawmakers told us they remain hopeful broadband money in a final deal on infrastructure hews closer to the $100 billion they and President Joe Biden propose (see 2103310064) than the $65 billion Senate Republicans seek. Senate Public Works Committee ranking member Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and other Republicans remained mum on how much they planned to increase their ask in an updated counteroffer they were to have presented to administration officials Tuesday (see 2105170067).
Congressional aides and FCC officials emphasized appetite for bipartisan telecom cooperation, at a Friday FCBA event. Aides to the House and Senate Commerce committees noted lawmakers' work to reach a compromise on infrastructure spending including broadband. FCC members’ chiefs of staff said commissioners learned to work together amid the 2-2 split.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi and other GOP senators who met Thursday with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on their dueling infrastructure proposals indicated afterward there was progress. Biden’s proposal would allocate $100 billion for broadband, while Republicans’ counterproposal includes $65 billion for connectivity (see 2104220067). “We'll see if we can work out some … compromise on infrastructure,” Biden told reporters at the start of the meeting. “And I know” the Republicans are “sincere about it, so am I.” Biden asked the Republicans to “come back with another” counteroffer next week “with more granularity to it” than the initial proposal they released last month, said Senate Public Works Committee ranking member Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia. She said the counterproposal could include more money. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California told reporters Wednesday that chamber’s GOP caucus intends to release its own counterproposal of less than $800 billion as soon as next week. Biden “left a lot of room for us to negotiate,” Capito said. “I made it clear that this was not a stagnant offer from us” and “he made it clear that he’s sincere in wanting to pursue this. And in the end, we agreed that if it doesn’t work, we’ll walk away friends.” Wicker said “we’re getting somewhere” in discussions, including a robust discussion about using public-private partnerships as a way to pay for infrastructure spending. “We should know before Memorial Day whether there’s a deal to be had or not,” said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri. “If I was the White House, I wouldn’t want to go much beyond Memorial Day unless I thought we were down to the final details. But two weeks is a long time if you want to make something happen.”
Scott Harris of Harris Wiltshire appears to be the front-runner for NTIA administrator, communications sector officials and lobbyists told us. The Biden administration may announce its NTIA pick as soon as next week. The Senate Commerce Committee voted down 14-14 Wednesday a bid by ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., to attach his Improving Spectrum Coordination Act (S-1472) to the Endless Frontier Act (S-1260) amid Democrats' belief a permanent administrator needs to be in place before lawmakers consider major changes to spectrum policymaking. Senate Commerce advanced an amended version of S-1260 24-4 (see 2105120063).
The Administrative Conference of the U.S. Assembly Rulemaking Committee agreed Tuesday to delay until May 24 a vote on a draft proposal recommending the FCC and other federal agencies limit some types of comment, amid outcry from Free Press and others, an FP spokesperson told us. FP, Incompas, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge are among more than 80 groups that raised concerns Tuesday about the latest plan. The committee plans to vote after members circulate further revisions, the FP spokesperson said. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ (D) office last week found nearly 18 million of the more than 22 million comments submitted to the FCC on repealing net neutrality rules in 2017 were fake (see our report here).
The Treasury Department released interim final rules Monday that would make broadband projects in areas that “lack access to a wireline connection capable of reliably delivering at least minimum speeds of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload” the only ones eligible for money from the $350 billion in state and local funding from the American Rescue Plan Act package. Congress allocated $10 billion of the state and local money specifically for broadband and other infrastructure projects (see 2103100065). Recipient governments have “broad flexibility” to decide how to allocate their share, Treasury said.
House Communications Subcommittee members delivered divergent assessments on infrastructure proposals from President Joe Biden’s administration and congressional Democrats aimed at improving broadband affordability and equity, during a Thursday hearing. Negotiations on the scope of a final infrastructure legislative package partly turn on whether a broadband title will address affordability and equity. Doing so is crucial to narrowing the digital divide, supporters told us.
Public Knowledge CEO Chris Lewis and Next Century Cities Executive Director Francella Ochillo urge broadband affordability and equity legislation along the lines of what President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers propose (see 2103310064), in written testimony before a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee hearing. National Urban league Senior Vice President-Advocacy and Policy Joi Chaney and Phoenix Center Chief Economist George Ford also will testify (see 2105040062). Their written testimony wasn’t available Wednesday. “The high cost of broadband is one of the primary reasons why the United States has such a staggering digital divide,” Lewis says. “Congress must take steps to increase competition in the marketplace, which will reduce prices. However, even with lower prices, some of our nation’s most vulnerable will still be unable to afford this critical service. For this reason, Congress must create a long-term benefit” to succeed the $3.2 billion FCC emergency broadband benefit (see 2012220061). A “long-term emergency broadband benefit must continue the EBB’s legacy of broad consumer eligibility, should provide enough funding to enable consumers to access service that meets their needs, and should guarantee that all eligible consumers complete enrollment by promoting automatic verification of identity and eligibility,” Lewis says. “Congress should also require any entity receiving federal funding to offer a low-cost option for anyone.” Ochillo urges lawmakers to consider nontraditional network models to ensure a comprehensive affordability strategy, including municipal networks. Muni broadband has "some of the fastest speeds and highest quality connectivity in the nation while making prices readily transparent, selling service in symmetrical tiers, and maintaining affordability programs for low-income residents,” she says. “Publicly owned WiFi and mesh networks also fill important gaps.” The Computer & Communications industry Association praised House Communications for tackling broadband affordability and equity.
Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York and other House Judiciary Committee members drilled down Wednesday on how to structure potential legislation to revamp Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 512 (see 2009300068). They cited the need to bring back balance to how DMCA prioritizes interests of content creators, consumers and major tech platforms. Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee ranking member Thom Tillis, R-N.C., hopes to introduce DMCA revamp legislation soon that places a heavy emphasis on addressing Section 512 (see 2103080053).