The House voted 242-184 Thursday to pass the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act (HR-3843) (see 2209260060). It initially passed by voice vote, but House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, called for an official count. The bill raises fees for larger transactions and lowers the fee for small and medium deals, ensuring the FTC and DOJ receive fair compensation for their merger reviews, said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., on the floor Thursday. Jordan said the estimated $140 million annually for each agency will result in more unnecessary government bureaucracy and politically driven harassment. Public Knowledge welcomed the vote. “For many years, antitrust enforcers feared that Congress would cut their funding if they did too much to protect consumers and promote a healthy marketplace,” said Competition Policy Director Charlotte Slaiman. “Now Congress speaks clearly on antitrust: The strategy of underenforcement is over.”
The House voted 242-184 Thursday to pass the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act (HR-3843) (see 2209260060). It initially passed by voice vote, but House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, called for an official count. The bill raises fees for larger transactions and lowers the fee for small and medium deals, ensuring the FTC and DOJ receive fair compensation for their merger reviews, said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., on the floor Thursday. Jordan said the estimated $140 million annually for each agency will result in more unnecessary government bureaucracy and politically driven harassment. Public Knowledge welcomed the vote. “For many years, antitrust enforcers feared that Congress would cut their funding if they did too much to protect consumers and promote a healthy marketplace,” said Competition Policy Director Charlotte Slaiman. “Now Congress speaks clearly on antitrust: The strategy of underenforcement is over.”
House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., warned the FCC and FTC not to "continue to exceed Congressional authorizations" given the "limitations" on their authority highlighted in the Supreme Court's June West Virginia v. EPA ruling. The high court further clamped down on the ability of agencies like the FCC to regulate without clear direction from Congress (see 2206300066). The committee "will exercise our robust investigative and legislative powers" to ensure federal agencies don't overreach, Rodgers told FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and FTC Chair Lina Khan in Sept. 23 letters released Wednesday. Rodgers appears to be putting federal agencies on notice ahead of the GOP's potential regain of House control in the Nov. 8 midterm election.
Washington, D.C., may want to reconsider its unified approach to handling 911 calls, two D.C. council members said at a Judiciary and Public Safety Committee virtual meeting Wednesday. Members raised alarm with the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) making little progress on recommendations from an audit last year (see 2209090049), and continued reports of dispatching delays due to incorrect addresses and miscommunication and the agency’s alleged failure to give victims’ families an explanation or apology.
Consumer advocacy organizations and inmate calling services (ICS) providers welcomed a draft order expanding access to telecom relay services for deaf or hard of hearing individuals and an FCC Further NPRM that would seek comment on whether the commission should amend its rules for refunds (see 2209080057). Some sought to eliminate the population threshold for facilities to require compliance with the proposed rules. ICS providers raised implementation concerns. Commissioners will consider the item Thursday.
An item circulated to FCC commissioner offices last week involves possible updates to the foreign-sponsored content rules, according to broadcast industry officials. The item is expected to be an NPRM seeking comment on updates to the rules, following the July U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision striking down some of the requirements in July, officials said.
Some industry officials say the national spectrum strategy the Biden administration is expected to release will have the most value if the administration lays out with more granularity mid-band spectrum that is targeted for 5G, and eventually 6G. The plan was the focus of a day-long NTIA forum Sept. 19 (see 2209190061). Experts agreed it will likely take six months or longer to put a strategy together.
The FirstNet Authority appears likely to win easy approval of a renewal of its band 14 license, now before the FCC, industry experts said Friday. The National Sheriffs Association and the Major Cities Chiefs Association (see 2209070059) and 2208250056) have raised questions, but the general run of letters has praised the network. The license expires Nov. 15.
Opposition by Natural Resources Defense Council and the International Dark-Sky Association (NRDC/IDA) to SpaceX's proposed second-generation constellation comes months after the pleading cycle's close and uses arguments the FCC already rejected or that have been previously addressed, the company told the International Bureau in a filing Wednesday. They ignore that the National Environmental Policy Act doesn't apply to space and "seek to goad the Commission into exceeding" its NEPA authority, SpaceX said. They also ignore SpaceX's efforts to mitigate the reflectivity of its Starlink satellites, it said. NEPA doesn't stop the FCC from authorizing commercial satellite communications, but it does make the agency look at the environmental impacts, NRDC/IDA said earlier this month in the opposition: "So far, it has not." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision that the agency didn't violate NEPA in a SpaceX license modification (see 2208260035) didn't address the merits of the NEPA claims raised, and relying on a categorical exclusion to allow the second-gen constellation "is unlawful," the groups said.
Chinese equipment maker Dahua asked for confidential treatment for information provided in a meeting Monday with staff for FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. Dahua “provided the Commission with additional information regarding its product offerings and applications in the U.S., its cybersecurity practices, and its proposed safeguards for ensuring [National Defense Authorization Act] compliance,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 21-232: “The Ex Parte also responds to certain questions raised by Commissioner Carr’s office.” In June (see Ref:2205020036]), Dahua told the FCC it has been unable to determine how much of its gear sold in the U.S. is “used for public safety, government facilities, critical infrastructure, and national security purposes.”