House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., demanded Thursday the FCC reassure broadcasters the agency won’t revoke licenses for airing legally protected speech amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Commissioner Brendan Carr criticized Free Press’ petition for an investigation into whether broadcasters are airing false and misleading information about COVID-19 and require broadcasters “prominently disclose” when the information they air is “false or scientifically suspect,” including in Trump administration news briefings (see 2003260065). Pallone and Doyle wrote FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The lawmakers responded to letters President Donald Trump’s campaign sent last week to some broadcasters telling them their licenses could be “in jeopardy” if they continued to air ads from the anti-Trump Priorities USA Action Fund political action committee that say Trump called the epidemic a “hoax.” The federal government “must reaffirm -- not undermine -- America’s commitment to a free press” because “autocratic governments around the world are using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to suppress press freedoms,” Pallone and Doyle told Pai. “By remaining silent, the FCC sends a disturbing signal.” The FCC “has a duty to provide clear guidance to broadcasters and the public that threats by politicians about protected speech will not influence the agency or broadcaster licenses,” they said. “To stay silent could undermine the First Amendment and the Communications Act.” The agency didn’t comment. FP’s petition “is a sweeping and dangerous attempt by the left to weaponize the FCC against conservative broadcasters and politicians,” Carr tweeted. “It is a clear signal of the agenda the left will pursue if they regain control of the FCC,” including “censoring speech that does not fit their orthodoxy.” Carr stands “with the First Amendment and strongly oppose[s] this.” He noted FP was among groups that pressed for “greater government control of the Internet” via 2015 net neutrality rules. FP stands by its petition because it believes "it's quite possible that certain broadcasts have amounted to ‘hoaxes’ as defined by the FCC’s own regulations," co-CEO Jessica Gonzalez said in a statement. "We will not stand down in the face of flip comments from a misguided FCC commissioner and his band of seven-cent trolls. We expect an official response from the agency mandated by Congress to protect the public interest on our nation’s airwaves, not a right-wing firing squad lobbing insults over Twitter."
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
House Democratic leaders said Wednesday they plan to move forward on infrastructure funding legislation as part of the next package addressing COVID-19 when the chamber reconvenes, citing President Donald Trump’s recent interest. Trump said Tuesday he wants the next bill to include $2 trillion in infrastructure spending (see 2003310070). Democrats’ calls for broadband funding to be a part of the next bill have grown since Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (HR-748) last week (see 2003260063).
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he’s interested in pursuing $2 trillion in infrastructure spending as part of the next bill addressing COVID-19. Congressional Democrats have been pushing for future COVID-19 legislation to tackle infrastructure issues since Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (HR-748) last week (see 2003260063). Trump and other administration officials spoke with major U.S. ISPs about the providers’ efforts to increase network capacity to accommodate increased telework and distance learning use.
More Democrats are signaling interest in pushing to include broadband capacity and distance learning provisions in a potential fourth bill addressing the effects of COVID-19. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., earlier cited those issues as a continued priority (see 2003250046). The Senate voted 96-0 Wednesday to pass the third economic stimulus measure, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (HR-748). The legislation includes telehealth provisions and pandemic-related appropriations for the FCC, Rural Utilities Service and CPB, as expected.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Wednesday she and other congressional Democrats plan to push for the next bill addressing COVID-19 to include broadband capacity and distance learning provisions. A compromise of a third stimulus bill unveiled that day failed to include those priorities. Capitol Hill leaders and President Donald Trump’s administration reached a deal early Wednesday. A cloture vote on the COVID-19 legislative vehicle (HR-748) was expected to have happened Wednesday night. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and three other Republicans made that outcome more uncertain when they objected to the bill's proposed amount of unemployment insurance.
Congressional leaders were optimistic Tuesday afternoon they were close to reaching a deal on a third economic stimulus bill addressing the effects of COVID-19, after days of wrangling over legislative language on funding for telecom and other priorities. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was among those saying a deal appeared near, though she warned House Democratic leaders could move forward on a counterproposal if they deem final Senate bill language unsatisfactory. The Pelosi-led counterproposal drew fire from Republicans in part because it contains pandemic-specific Lifeline funding (see 2003230066).
Negotiations dragged on Monday on a third economic stimulus bill addressing the effects of COVID-19, with congressional lawmakers having yet to reach a bipartisan deal. A second bid for the Senate to invoke cloture on the legislative vehicle for the hoped-for compromise measure (HR-748) failed on a 49-46 vote amid continued Democratic objections to the current contours of a legislative proposal that has GOP buy-in. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was circulating her Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act counterproposal, which includes pandemic-specific Lifeline and distance learning funding.
Talks on a third economic stimulus bill addressing the effects of COVID-19 appeared likely to drag on into the weekend, with telecom-related provisions likely still in the negotiations mix. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Friday he considers “inadequate” the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (S-3548) from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Schumer and other Democrats were pushing strongly for the third COVID-19 bill to address pandemic-related infrastructure, including broadband capacity and distance learning resources (see 2003180066), lobbyists told us.
President Donald Trump renominated FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly Wednesday to another five-year term, the White House announced in a notice of nominations it sent to the Senate (see 2003180069). O’Rielly’s new term would end June 30, 2024. His current term ended in June 2019, but he can remain on the commission until this Congress ends at the beginning of 2021. The action had been thought likely given he had support of Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune of South Dakota and other prominent Capitol Hill Republicans (see 1910250039). He has had the backing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Senate leaders looked ahead Wednesday to plans for a third funding package aimed at economic losses and a possible recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The chamber approved the House-passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act (HR-6201) on a 90-8 vote, sending it to President Donald Trump for signature. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., continued his push for any additional funding legislation to also address pandemic-related infrastructure issues, including broadband capacity and distance learning resources (see 2003170014).