Newly named Democratic chairmen of the Senate Communications Subcommittee and Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the FCC budget, set their sights on influencing the broadband-focused legislation expected to be an early priority for President Joe Biden’s administration (see 2101150001). Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., chairs the Senate Commerce Committee's Communications Subcommittee (see 2102190056). Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., leads the Appropriations Committee's Financial Services Subcommittee, which oversees the FCC and FTC budgets (see 2102120067).
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
President Joe Biden was expected to have signed off Wednesday night on an executive order aimed at improving the resiliency of the supply chain for semiconductors and other “essential products.” The EO would direct federal agencies to conduct a 100-day comprehensive review of U.S. supply chains for semiconductors and three other products, the White House said. It would direct a one-year review of the U.S. supply chain for information and communications technology. Agencies should recommend ways to improve supply chain resiliency, the White House said. The Information Technology Industry Council and Semiconductor Industry Association praised the coming document. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and 11 other lawmakers met with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss supply chain resiliency. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters he focused on funding the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act. The measure, which passed as part of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (see 2101030002), authorizes federal incentives to promote semiconductor manufacturing and public-sector investments in semiconductor R&D. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., another meeting participant, said in a statement that the U.S. must “bring home the manufacturing of advanced technologies, including for 5G infrastructure, in order to address potential shortages and vulnerabilities.”
A Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on broadcasting and cable companies’ role in spreading disinformation focused on letters two subpanel members earlier sent to 12 major providers asking them to justify carrying Fox News, Newsmax and One America News Network, as expected (see 2102230001). Republicans said the letters (see 2102220068), from Reps. Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney, both D-Calif., are evidence Democrats want to punish conservative news media. Democrats emphasized they aren’t seeking new legislation to regulate the media.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Tuesday that he plans to lead Democrats in bowing legislation aimed at using investment in 5G and other emerging technologies to counter Chinese advances. Senate Democrats’ emerging tech package needs to “address America’s short-term and long-term plans to protect the semiconductor supply chain, and to keep us No. 1 in things like [artificial intelligence], 5G, quantum computing” and data storage, Schumer told a news conference. “We can’t let China get ahead of us in chip production.” Schumer expects the Senate to be ready to consider the measure on the floor this spring. “We need to get a bill like this to” President Joe Biden’s “desk quickly to protect America’s long-term economic and national security,” he said. The Semiconductor Industry Association praised Schumer’s plan. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., raised concerns during a Tuesday hearing about China’s “aggressive attempts to undercut our current technological superiority.” Lawmakers “must also be concerned about the strength of our national research and innovation enterprise, including the workforce, the health of the manufacturing and industrial base, and the infrastructure that we need to support technology development,” he said.
Democrats and Republicans appeared to be drawing battle lines before a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Wednesday over whether broadcasters, cable companies and streaming services should continue to carry conservative media outlets that critics claim deliberately disseminate disinformation. Lobbyists expect the hearing to largely be a venue to score political points, rather than a precursor to legislation. The virtual hearing begins at 12:30 p.m. EST.
Reps. Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney, both D-Calif., pressed major cable, satellite and streaming services Monday to explain their decision to carry politically conservative media outlets Fox News, Newsmax and One America News Network. The lawmakers consider them “misinformation rumor mills and conspiracy theory hotbeds that produce content that leads to real harm.” The inquiries drew swift criticism from FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and some of the media outlets. The letters went to Google parent Alphabet, Altice, Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, Dish Network, Hulu, Roku and Verizon.
Congressional committees will likely continue doing much work online until the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers and experts told us. It's less clear how Capitol Hill plans to return to normal, given concerns about security after the Jan. 6 insurrection (see 2101060057). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said last week she plans to create an “outside, independent 9/11-type Commission” to study the insurrection’s causes and security lapses on Capitol grounds. The Senate Homeland Security and Rules committees are also doing oversight of Hill security.
Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., is the new Senate Communications Subcommittee chairman, Commerce Committee leaders said Friday. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, the subcommittee’s lead Democrat in the last Congress, relinquished the seat in favor of other leadership roles, as expected (see 2101290049). Senate Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota will remain the subcommittee’s lead Republican, also as expected (see 2011020048).
House Communications Subcommittee Democrats and Republicans cited conflicting priorities for addressing broadband in COVID-19 and infrastructure bills during Wednesday's hearing, as expected (see 2102160067). Democrats focused on their proposed $7.6 billion for remote E-rate as part of a pandemic-focused budget reconciliation package and on plans to seek broadband funding in a coming infrastructure bill. Republicans criticized aspects of those plans, citing alternatives they issued this week focused partly on streamlining regulations to speed up broadband deployment.
A House Communications Subcommittee hearing Wednesday appears likely to focus on promoting $7.6 billion in E-rate funding included in Commerce Committee-advanced language to be added to a coming COVID-19 budget reconciliation package (see 2102120066), plus other measures to improve broadband access during the pandemic. House Commerce Republicans unveiled an alternative broadband policy agenda Tuesday, which largely draws on bills they first filed last summer (see 2102120066).