House lawmakers Wednesday reintroduced the Regulatory Accountability Act (HR-185), which would force “federal bureaucrats to adopt the least costly method to effectively implement the law,” a news release said. They posted the bill text, which includes provisions on how agencies conduct rulemakings and what must occur when they issue major or high-impact rules. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., are the bill’s primary backers. It “addresses the problem of escalating, excessive federal regulatory costs in a clear, commonsense way that we can all support,” Goodlatte said in a statement. “This legislation directs the Executive Branch to fulfill its statutory goals set by Congress and requires simply that they reach those goals in the least costly way with better public input to find the most efficient regulatory solutions.” The House passed the legislation in the 113th Congress but it never made it through the Senate.
The Communications Act overhaul will be on the agenda Friday as the House Commerce Committee convenes for an organizational meeting at 9 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. The agenda includes adoption of committee rules, subcommittee jurisdictions, subcommittee members and leaders of both parties, and the committee’s 114th Congress oversight plan. The 11-page oversight plan includes multiple items Commerce will focus on -- a telecom law rewrite; the operations of the FCC, FTC and FirstNet; Internet governance; cybersecurity; privacy and data security; spectrum management; and broadband availability. “The Committee will pay particular attention to whether the FCC conducts cost-benefit and market analyses before imposing regulations,” the plan said. “The Committee will also conduct oversight to ensure compliance with existing processes, improve FCC procedures, and promote transparency.” Republicans already have named their subcommittee members and leaders. Commerce Democrats plan an organizational meeting Thursday (see 1501050039).
Overhauling the Communications Act is a key priority for House Republicans of the Commerce Committee in the 114th Congress, Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said in a 12-page report released Tuesday. “The panel has already collected stakeholder input and convened a series of expert witnesses via hearings to set the stage for an update to the Communications Act -- a law written in the telegraph era and last updated when Palm Pilots were at the cutting edge,” the report said. Another priority is “protecting consumers and commerce in the Internet age,” it said. “Today, that commerce increasingly occurs in cyberspace, which is why the committee and the [Trade] subcommittee in particular will be focused on data security and the implications of cyber threats to American commerce.” The report included what it considered accomplishments of the 113th Congress, such as keeping a “watchful eye” on the FCC and keeping “up the bipartisan pressure to protect the multi-stakeholder approach to Internet governance that has fostered freedom and innovation around the world."
Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., became part of Senate GOP leadership Tuesday. Fischer is a member of the Commerce Committee in this Congress and has been part of the Communications Subcommittee, which has not yet released members for the new Congress. She has outlined an ambitious tech and telecom agenda. Former Hill staffers have told us it’s helpful in moving pieces of legislation when the backers belong to the leadership (see 1411180038). Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appointed Fischer one of four counsels to the majority leader of the 114th Congress, which officially began Tuesday. Another counsel is Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a member of the Judiciary Committee. “This position will give me the unique opportunity to present the concerns of Nebraskans directly to Republican Leadership at our weekly meetings and add a new perspective to our conference,” Fischer said in a statement.
CTIA said federal law should prevent the FCC from regulating wireless as a Communications Act Title II service. “The Congressional framework for regulating wireless services -- specifically Section 332 of the Communications Act -- prohibits the application of Title II common carrier regulation to mobile broadband,” Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann said in a post Tuesday. “Yet again, when it comes to Net Neutrality, wireless is different.” CTIA submitted a legal white paper to the FCC making the same argument last month.
House Commerce Committee Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., hammered the FCC again Monday for its interest in creating net neutrality rules. “Of course net neutrality rules would be damaging,” Blackburn said during a Fox Business news program interview, which she posted. Blackburn lamented Communications Act Title II reclassification of broadband and said it would impose taxes “on your broadband providers, an estimate of $15 billion in new taxes that would come in through a Title II regulation,” a position that has been contested (see 1412010035). “It is called companies trying to find a way to transact business,” she said of Comcast's hammering out a peering deal with Netflix. “Let’s leave it to the private sector.” She said innovators shouldn't need to seek FCC permission before proceeding with innovation, citing the ongoing CES show in Las Vegas and what innovators there would think. “What we don’t want to see is the FCC usurping that authority so they are assigning priority and value to content,” Blackburn said. “The FCC needs to get out of the way and let innovation take place.” Congressional Democrats have largely backed net neutrality rules, some pushing for Title II reclassification.
Incoming Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, will chair the House Homeland Security Committee’s Cybersecurity Subcommittee in the 114th Congress, said Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas. Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., led the subcommittee during the 113th Congress. Ratcliffe, a former U.S. attorney, defeated incumbent Rep. Ralph Hall in a Republican primary in May.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pressed the Obama administration on its use of cell-site simulators, which can collect cellphone users’ information. They sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson Dec. 23, which they released Wednesday. Grassley, who will become chairman of Judiciary and Leahy ranking member in the new Congress, sought answers to several questions by Jan. 30. In the months since summer, “our staff members have participated in two briefings with FBI officials, and at the most recent session they learned that the FBI recently changed its policy with respect to the type of legal process that it typically seeks before employing this type of technology,” they wrote in the letter. “According to this new policy, the FBI now obtains a search warrant before deploying a cell-site simulator, although the policy contains a number of potentially broad exceptions and we continue to have questions about how it is being implemented in practice. Furthermore, it remains unclear how other agencies within the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security make use of cell-site simulators and what policies are in place to govern their use of that technology.”
Recent mobile cramming settlements with AT&T and T-Mobile “send a strong message to wireless carriers and crammers that this insidious practice will not be tolerated,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a news release Tuesday. “Unauthorized and unscrupulous third-party charges -- hidden in bills through vague and deceptive language -- have robbed consumers and they deserve their money back.” He held a news conference in Hartford Monday with FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to let people know how to collect money from the settlement and how to alert the government of future problems. “Cramming is modern-day pickpocketing,” Rosenworcel said. “These bogus charges on consumer bills are unfair -- and they can add up fast. That's why these settlements are so important.” To allow consumers to seek compensation, AT&T set up a website, as did T-Mobile.
Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Angus King, I-Maine, defended strong net neutrality protections and pushed for Communications Act Title II reclassification of broadband. They spoke together over the weekend on WGAN’s Inside Maine program, with King interviewing Booker and posting the 13 minutes of audio on his website. Booker and King wrote a joint op-ed earlier this month on the issue (see 1412080045). “It’s not just" you and me, Booker told King, citing the more than 4 million comments the FCC has received on net neutrality. “My office has received thousands of communications.” Booker warned of “a level of unfairness” that could “squelch” businesses. “I doubt if Instagram could get going if someone charged a big entry fee,” King said. He said he and Booker are not “big regulation guys” and said these protections would not amount to that. The FCC “can fix it by simply saying, by treating it as what’s called a common carrier and moving it under Title II,” Booker said, referring to a path under what he said was a recent Supreme Court decision on the issue. The Supreme Court hasn't ruled on net neutrality but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated some net neutrality rules earlier this year and did refer to a statutory path for net neutrality rules. Booker and King said the phone companies “hate” the idea of some net neutrality rules. Booker also said he has friends who work at the major ISPs, specifically alluding to Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen by citing one former political job Cohen held but without naming him explicitly. Cohen has helped with Democratic fundraising. “These are good people,” Booker said. “They come in, as lobbyists do, and they make their case to you.” But Booker disagrees with the reasoning, he said. Booker suspects these big companies will “sue again” over net neutrality. Many congressional Republicans and ISP industry stakeholders object to Title II reclassification.