National Emergency Number Association members began their annual Capitol Hill meetings Wednesday to urge Congress to pass the 911 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act (HR-1629/S-1015) and Next Generation 9-1-1 Act (HR-2760/S-1479). HR-1629/S-1015 would change the federal government's classification of public safety call-takers and dispatchers to "protective service occupations" (see 1904050054). HR-2760/S-1479 would provide $12 billion in federal grants for NG-911 projects and directs NTIA to provide further technical assistance while also maintaining state and local control of 911 systems. Democrats included the bill’s text (see 1905220076) in their Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s (Lift) America Act (HR-2741), which NENA also supports. Lead HR-1629 sponsor Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., urged NENA members before their meetings to counter opponents’ arguments against the measure, including that it could increase personnel costs due to a change in dispatchers’ job classification. The bill “comes with zero costs,” leaving it up to government agencies to decide whether the change in job classification should lead to higher pay for dispatchers, Torres said at the event. She noted OMB concerns torpedoed an effort to attach the text of HR-1629 to the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (see 1912120061).
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 Science Research and Technology Subcommittee members eyed beefing up the U.S. cybersecurity workforce, during a Tuesday hearing. Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, noted interest in moving additional cybersecurity-focused legislation “this year.” She said the National Institute of Standards and Technology remains “the right agency to continue to lead efforts" here. “Technology alone will not mitigate the many" cyber risks, Johnson said. “Educate and train individuals in cybersecurity at all levels, and it requires not just degrees but different types of certifications as well as continuing education." The public should "be well-educated about cyber hygiene, starting in our elementary schools.” Research and Technology Chairwoman Haley Stevens, D-Mich., cited a NIST National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) finding that “nearly one in three cybersecurity jobs go unfilled.” That's partly due to lack of even basic cybersecurity skills training in schools, though there are “multiple pathways to careers in cybersecurity,” Stevens said. The field “lacks diversity” and “we cannot address our current and future cybersecurity workforce needs without recruiting and retaining more women and minorities.” Subcommittee ranking member Jim Baird, R-Ind., touted the recently filed Securing American Leadership in Science and Technology Act. He said HR-5685 “makes strategic investments in cybersecurity research and development across federal science agencies.” NICE Director Rodney Petersen said the program is noticing a “need to enhance cybersecurity career discovery for learners of all ages, transform the learning process to emphasize the multidisciplinary nature of cybersecurity and the multiple career pathways." He noted the National Council for the American Worker is creating the “first ever national workforce strategy.” The strategy “is promoting the importance of multiple pathways to careers (not just a 4-year university education), the essential role of employers as part of our national education and workforce system, the need for companies to employ skill-based hiring and the need for greater transparency in the skills that companies need and the return on investment of different educational pathways,” Petersen said. IBM Enterprise and Technology Security division Human Resources Director Sonya Miller urged Congress to pass the Harvesting American Cybersecurity Knowledge through Education Act. S-2775 would create a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy working group to coordinate federal cybersecurity workforce training. It would direct NIST to develop “standards and guidelines for improving the cybersecurity workforce for an agency” (see 1911050061). Tennessee Tech University Cybersecurity Education, Research and Outreach Center Director Ambareen Siraj urged more funding for several federal scholarship and workforce development programs, and supporting “nontraditional pathways” into the industry. Merit Network CEO Joseph Sawasky said federal and state governments should develop “the talent pipeline” early, and government should encourage cyberskills development “for under-represented groups.”
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., believes there’s a rapidly decreasing likelihood lawmakers will reach a deal on legislation allocating the proceeds of a coming FCC auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band before or after the commission's planned Feb. 28 vote on Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal (see 2002060057). House Commerce Committee leaders don’t share Wicker’s pessimism. The House-side lawmakers plan further talks this week on a coming bill, which has become their main telecom policy priority (see 2002070044).
President Donald Trump’s administration again proposes to zero out federal funding for the CPB in his FY 2021 budget proposal, getting familiar opposition from the entity’s supporters. He sought to draw down CPB’s funding in each of his budget proposals since taking office in 2017 (see 1903180063). Trump seeks an increase in appropriations to the FCC and NTIA, but wants to slightly decrease the amount provided to the FTC. Trump signed off in December on FY 2020 appropriations, including $339 million for the FCC, $331 million for the FTC and $40.4 million for NTIA (see 1912190068).
The House Commerce Committee’s telecom agenda is set to be dominated in the coming weeks by leaders’ work to reach a deal on legislation on allocating the proceeds of a coming FCC auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band, lawmakers and lobbyists told us. Committee members are being pressed by a planned Feb. 28 FCC vote on Chairman Ajit Pai’s C-band plan, which he unveiled Thursday (see 2002060057) and released Friday. Other items are also percolating, including on public safety communications, network resiliency and broadband.
Attorney General William Barr said the U.S. government and its allies should be “actively considering” proposals to bolster Ericsson and Nokia “through American ownership of a controlling stake, either directly or through a consortium of private American and allied companies” to make them more effective competitors against Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei. Barr’s remarks at a Center for Strategic & International Studies conference came hours after Huawei sued Verizon in two U.S. district courts in Texas for allegedly violating the Chinese company’s patents on networking technology. Verizon abused patents via a range of services, including on Fios and network infrastructure components that “facilitate communication through Verizon’s networks,” Huawei said in its complaint. Verizon “profited greatly” from its abuses of the patents, which netted it $29.8 billion, Huawei claims. The lawsuit “nothing more than a PR stunt,” Verizon said. “This lawsuit is a sneak attack on our company and the entire tech ecosystem. Huawei’s real target is not Verizon; it is any country or company that defies it. The action lacks merit, and we look forward to vigorously defending ourselves.” Barr said U.S. backing of Ericsson and Nokia is preferable to the “pie in the sky” proposals supported by others in President Donald Trump’s administration to work with U.S. tech companies to develop open radio access networks software for 5G networks aimed at stemming concerns about the security of Huawei equipment (see 2002040056). The open RAN “approach is completely untested, and would take many years to get off the ground, and would not be ready for prime time for a decade, if ever,” Barr said. “What we need today is a product that can win contracts right now -- a proven infrastructure that network operators will make a long-term commitment to today. In other words, we need a product that can blunt and turnaround Huawei’s momentum currently.” Ericsson and Nokia are the “only two companies that can compete with Huawei right now,” Barr said. “They have quality, reliable products that can guarantee performance. They have proven successful in managing customers’ migration from 4G to 5G. The main concern about these suppliers is that they have neither Huawei’s scale nor the backing of a powerful country with a large market, like China.” Putting the U.S.’ “large market and financial muscle behind one or both of these firms would make it a more formidable competitor and eliminate concerns over its staying power,” he said. Barr urged the FCC to “move decisively” toward an auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band and “bring resolution” on the L band (see 2002060057). Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel criticized Barr, tweeting that it’s “becoming clear as day” the Trump administration “does not have a coordinated plan for our 5G future. We need one.”
Communications sector officials and lobbyists see President Donald Trump’s mention in his Tuesday night State of the Union of prioritizing broadband access improvements (see 2002040070) as a net positive for policymaking efforts on and off Capitol Hill, but also likely having limited effect. Several believe it will draw further attention to existing work at the FCC, Department of Agriculture and Congress. They noted that probably won't change fundamental hurdles likely to prevent lawmakers from advancing an infrastructure funding legislative package before the Nov. 3 presidential election (see 2001240001).
President Donald Trump said during his State of the Union speech he’s “committed to ensuring that every citizen can have access to high-speed internet, including and especially in rural America.” Tuesday night was the first time Trump mentioned broadband connectivity as a priority in the annual address, having not cited it during calls to pass infrastructure legislation in 2018 and 2019.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo played down concerns Thursday about potential strain in the U.S. intelligence sharing relationship with the U.K. after that country’s decision to allow equipment from Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei on “non-core” parts of its communications infrastructure (see 2001280074). House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., meanwhile, told reporters he believes the decision should put pressure on Congress to reach a deal on legislation to provide funding to help U.S. communications providers remove from their networks equipment determined to threaten national security.
Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel criticized the FCC Friday for taking “so long” to reach its finding today that “one or more wireless carriers apparently violated federal law” in their location-tracking practices, including the sale of customer location-tracking data allegedly accessed by bounty hunters. Chairman Ajit Pai wrote House Commerce Committee Democrats Friday to inform them the agency had concluded its year-plus investigation into the claims. The carriers didn’t immediately comment.