The House and Senate Commerce committees are likely to begin focusing on whether to reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, during two upcoming hearings, but those panels will only be a first act in the debate, lawmakers and lobbyists told us. Both committees are expected to have hearings during the first week of June on media market issues, seen as a way to set the stage for the STELA debate (see 1905150062 and 1905210071). Lawmakers' interest in talking about STELA has risen in recent months, particularly after Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., called recertification of the statute a must-pass bill (see 1902270018 and 1903150045). The 2014 STELA renewal expires at the end of 2019.

The promise of a rapid buildout of 5G infrastructure, especially across rural communities, justifies moving the U.S. from a market with four major wireless providers to three, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr suggested last week in an interview on C-SPAN. There appear to be enough commissioner votes to approve T-Mobile's buy of Sprint, following promises the combined company would commit to building out 5G infrastructure within three years to 97 percent of the U.S. population (see 1905200051). DOJ hasn't publicly weighed in.

House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., raised concerns that DOJ’s Antitrust Division is prioritizing “side projects” over antitrust enforcement work. He wrote division Chief Makan Delrahim Wednesday asking how many attorney hours the division devoted since January 2017 to statements of interest and amicus briefs in cases where the U.S. isn’t a party and where its participation isn’t requested by the court. Cicilline asked the division to compare that with the hours devoted to enforcement action and Sherman Act Section 2 investigations since January 2017. He also asked for details about the division’s involvement in FTC v. Qualcomm (see 1905220035) and any outside groups DOJ consulted in cases. DOJ didn't comment.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., led Wednesday night filing of the U.S. 5G Leadership Act (S-1625) in a bid to bar from U.S. networks equipment from Huawei and other Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers deemed a national security threat. Congress has repeatedly raised concerns about ZTE and other Chinese firms in the context of U.S. competition against China for leadership on 5G, including during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week (see 1905140079). S-1625's filing also follows President Donald Trump's executive order to bar some foreign companies' technology from U.S. networks and a subsequent Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security notice adding Huawei and some of its affiliates to a list of entities subject to export administration regulations that have a presumption of denial (see 1905150066 and 1905160081). BIS soon after issued a general license temporarily allowing certain transactions by Huawei and the affected affiliates through Aug. 19 (see 1905210013). S-1625 would make it U.S. policy that U.S. telecom networks “should not incorporate any hardware or software produced by, or any services offered by” Huawei, ZTE or other entities that are “subject to extrajudicial direction from a foreign government.” The bill would require the FCC complete its work on an NPRM to counter the threat from companies deemed a security threat to U.S. telecom networks or the communications supply chain (see 1812210032). It would create a grant program to make up to $700 million available annually to help U.S. communications providers remove from their networks Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security. “5G networks need to be robust and secure, and not rely on equipment or services that pose a national security risk,” Wicker said. “While we’ve made enormous progress in educating the private sector of the dangers [Huawei and other] vendors pose, we haven’t put in place policies to help resource-strapped rural carriers address and eliminate those risks,” Warner said. “We need to find insecure communications equipment, fix it, and fund it,” tweeted FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. S-1625 “addresses these issues -- lets get this done.” The Competitive Carriers Association and Telecommunications Industry Association praised Wicker and the other senators for filing S-1625. Senate Commerce Security Subcommittee Chairman Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., also signed on as co-sponsors.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., led Wednesday night filing of the U.S. 5G Leadership Act (S-1625) in a bid to bar from U.S. networks equipment from Huawei and other Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers deemed a national security threat. Congress has repeatedly raised concerns about ZTE and other Chinese firms in the context of U.S. competition against China for leadership on 5G, including during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week (see 1905140079). S-1625's filing also follows President Donald Trump's executive order to bar some foreign companies' technology from U.S. networks and a subsequent Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security notice adding Huawei and some of its affiliates to a list of entities subject to export administration regulations that have a presumption of denial (see 1905150066 and 1905160081). BIS soon after issued a general license temporarily allowing certain transactions by Huawei and the affected affiliates through Aug. 19 (see 1905210013). S-1625 would make it U.S. policy that U.S. telecom networks “should not incorporate any hardware or software produced by, or any services offered by” Huawei, ZTE or other entities that are “subject to extrajudicial direction from a foreign government.” The bill would require the FCC complete its work on an NPRM to counter the threat from companies deemed a security threat to U.S. telecom networks or the communications supply chain (see 1812210032). It would create a grant program to make up to $700 million available annually to help U.S. communications providers remove from their networks Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security. “5G networks need to be robust and secure, and not rely on equipment or services that pose a national security risk,” Wicker said. “While we’ve made enormous progress in educating the private sector of the dangers [Huawei and other] vendors pose, we haven’t put in place policies to help resource-strapped rural carriers address and eliminate those risks,” Warner said. “We need to find insecure communications equipment, fix it, and fund it,” tweeted FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. S-1625 “addresses these issues -- lets get this done.” The Competitive Carriers Association and Telecommunications Industry Association praised Wicker and the other senators for filing S-1625. Senate Commerce Security Subcommittee Chairman Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., also signed on as co-sponsors.

House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline, D-R.I., raised concerns that DOJ’s Antitrust Division is prioritizing “side projects” over antitrust enforcement work. He wrote division Chief Makan Delrahim Wednesday asking how many attorney hours the division devoted since January 2017 to statements of interest and amicus briefs in cases where the U.S. isn’t a party and where its participation isn’t requested by the court. Cicilline asked the division to compare that with the hours devoted to enforcement action and Sherman Act Section 2 investigations since January 2017. He also asked for details about the division’s involvement in FTC v. Qualcomm (see 1905220035) and any outside groups DOJ consulted in cases. DOJ didn't comment.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., led Wednesday night filing of the U.S. 5G Leadership Act (S-1625) in a bid to bar from U.S. networks equipment from Huawei and other Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers deemed a national security threat. Congress has repeatedly raised concerns about ZTE and other Chinese firms in the context of U.S. competition against China for leadership on 5G, including during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week (see 1905140079). S-1625's filing also follows President Donald Trump's executive order to bar some foreign companies' technology from U.S. networks and a subsequent Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security notice adding Huawei and some of its affiliates to a list of entities subject to export administration regulations that have a presumption of denial (see 1905150066 and 1905160081). BIS soon after issued a general license temporarily allowing certain transactions by Huawei and the affected affiliates through Aug. 19 (see 1905210013). S-1625 would make it U.S. policy that U.S. telecom networks “should not incorporate any hardware or software produced by, or any services offered by” Huawei, ZTE or other entities that are “subject to extrajudicial direction from a foreign government.” The bill would require the FCC complete its work on an NPRM to counter the threat from companies deemed a security threat to U.S. telecom networks or the communications supply chain (see 1812210032). It would create a grant program to make up to $700 million available annually to help U.S. communications providers remove from their networks Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security. “5G networks need to be robust and secure, and not rely on equipment or services that pose a national security risk,” Wicker said. “While we’ve made enormous progress in educating the private sector of the dangers [Huawei and other] vendors pose, we haven’t put in place policies to help resource-strapped rural carriers address and eliminate those risks,” Warner said. “We need to find insecure communications equipment, fix it, and fund it,” tweeted FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. S-1625 “addresses these issues -- lets get this done.” The Competitive Carriers Association and Telecommunications Industry Association praised Wicker and the other senators for filing S-1625. Senate Commerce Security Subcommittee Chairman Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., also signed on as co-sponsors.

The Department of Commerce published its spring 2019 regulatory agenda for the Bureau of Industry and Security. The agenda continues to mention an upcoming a long-awaited proposed rulemaking involving parties’ responsibilities under the Export Administration Regulations in a routed export transaction, saying the proposal will be published in May 2019. Sharron Cook, a senior policy export analyst for BIS, said in April the rule change will help solve some of the bigger frustrations with the current regulations faced by export forwarders (see 1904170064). BIS is aiming to issue the proposal in May, it said.

The House Commerce Committee moved forward with a Wednesday hearing on the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s (Lift) America Act (HR-2741) despite the simultaneous torpedoing of talks between President Donald Trump and top Capitol Hill Democrats on a plan to pay for additional spending on broadband and other infrastructure projects. HR-2741 would allocate $40 billion for broadband projects, offer $12 billion in grants for implementing next generation-911 technologies and $5 billion for federal funding of a loan and credit program for broadband projects. Democrats first filed the bill in 2017 (see 1706020056).

The House Commerce Committee moved forward with a Wednesday hearing on the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s (Lift) America Act (HR-2741) despite the simultaneous torpedoing of talks between President Donald Trump and top Capitol Hill Democrats on a plan to pay for additional spending on broadband and other infrastructure projects. HR-2741 would allocate $40 billion for broadband projects, offer $12 billion in grants for implementing next generation-911 technologies and $5 billion for federal funding of a loan and credit program for broadband projects. Democrats first filed the bill in 2017 (see 1706020056).