Lawmakers and other observers said in recent interviews that Congress’ deal to pass the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act without language giving the defense secretary and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman authority to essentially veto commercial use of 3.1-3.45 GHz and 7.4-8.4 GHz bands (see 2512080055) will only temporarily pause fighting between the wireless industry and DOD supporters over military spectrum holdings. Officials pointed to President Donald Trump’s memorandum last week directing NTIA to explore reallocating federal systems currently on the 7.125-7.4 GHz band to the 7.4-8.4 GHz band and other frequencies (see 2512190086) as a fresh indicator that the ceasefire will be fleeting.

The Senate Commerce Committee’s FCC oversight hearing Wednesday remains likely to feature a heavy emphasis on examining commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s media regulatory actions, including his mid-September comments against ABC and parent Disney, which were widely perceived as inciting the network’s since-reversed decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air (see 2509220059). Carr threatened ABC in a podcast interview, saying the network should discipline Kimmel for comments about the reaction to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk (see 2509170064) or face FCC action.

Senate Communications Subcommittee members alternated Tuesday between debating the FCC’s rollback last month of its January response to the Salt Typhoon cyberattacks and making bipartisan calls to renew the 2015 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr led the push for the agency to reverse January's declaratory ruling from the closing days of former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s administration, which said the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act Section 105 requires telecom carriers to secure their networks against cyberattacks (see 2501160041). The FCC in November also withdrew an NPRM on cybersecurity requirements that the commission issued along with the declaratory ruling (see 2511200047).

The Senate Communications Subcommittee plans a hearing Dec. 2 to examine defending U.S. networks from “fraud, espionage, and sabotage,” the Commerce Committee said Friday. The hearing will also “examine how the federal government can enhance awareness and foster a culture of network security within the communications industry.” Robert Mayer, USTelecom's senior vice president of cybersecurity and innovation, is among those set to testify. Also on the witness list are Daniel Gizinski, Comtech's president of the satellite and space communications segment, and Jamil Jaffer, executive director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University's Scalia Law School. The panel will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.

Top Senate Commerce Committee leaders told us they aren’t yet completely ruling out proposals to make the USF subject to Congress’ annual appropriations process as part of a legislative revamp of the program. However, some panel Democrats are dubious because of flaws in the funding system, amplified by the ongoing government shutdown (see 2510230049). In comments submitted to Congress' bipartisan USF working group, some stakeholders also strongly advocated for shifting to an appropriations-based funding model (see 2509160064). Meanwhile, panelists at a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition event Wednesday said they see appropriations as a largely unappealing option to give USF more sustainable long-term funding.

The U.S. Hispanic Business Council raised concerns Friday about Section 1564 of the Senate-passed FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (S-2296), which allows DOD and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman to essentially veto commercial use of the 3.1-3.45 and 7.4-8.4 GHz bands (see 2510090048). The Senate voted 77-20 earlier this month to pass S-2296 with the Section 1564 military spectrum veto language intact, despite opposition from Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas (see 2510070037). The House-passed FY26 NDAA (HR-3838) doesn’t include similar language.

A tug-of-war is continuing in the Senate over language from the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (S-2296) that Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said last month would give the DOD and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman excessive authority to veto commercial use of the 3.1-3.45 and 7.4-8.4 GHz bands (see 2509100064). The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the spectrum language in Section 1564, but Cruz filed an amendment in September to remove the proposal. He's also negotiating to remove it as part of a manager's amendment (see 2509110073). The House-passed FY26 NDAA (HR-3838) doesn't include similar language.

The proposed AI moratorium could “absolutely” be reintroduced in some form, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told us last week.

The Senate narrowly passed an amended version Tuesday of the HR-1 budget reconciliation package, formerly named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with a proposal for an 800 MHz spectrum auction pipeline but without a controversial Commerce Committee proposal for a voluntary freeze on enforcing state-level AI rules. The chamber voted 99-1 to strip out that language after a deal between Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. (see 2506300072), collapsed Monday night.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, locked down support Wednesday from a pair of top Armed Services Committee Republicans for the panel’s spectrum budget reconciliation package language after strengthening the original proposal’s exclusion of the 3.1-3.45 GHz and 7.4-8.4 GHz bands from potential FCC auction or other reallocation (see 2506060029). Cruz’s office also reemphasized his view that the revised proposal’s language to encourage states to pause enforcement of AI laws no longer threatens jurisdictions’ eligibility for the enacted $42.5 billion in BEAD funding (see 2506230043) in the face of Democratic assertions to the contrary.