Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., introduced legislation to prevent the federal government from mandating that tech companies build in what Wyden called, in a news release, “backdoors” for gathering private information. He attached a copy of the bill text. “This bill sends a message to leaders of those agencies to stop recklessly pushing for new ways to vacuum up Americans’ private information, and instead put that effort into rebuilding public trust,” Wyden said of the Secure Data Act, in a statement. Lofgren introduced a bill (HR-5800) that has a title outlining a similar intent.
The Senate Commerce Committee plans to address regulatory issues for the Internet of Things in the next Congress, said committee members Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., at an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation event Thursday. Intel, Toyota and USTelecom, among others, sponsored the event. “Policymakers can't bury their heads in the sand and pretend this technological revolution isn't happening, only to wake up years down the road and try to micromanage a fast-changing, dynamic industry,” said Fischer. “The federal government must also avoid regulation just for the sake of regulation,” she said. “We're destined to lose to the Chinese or others if the Internet of Things is governed in the United States by rules that pre-date the VCR,” Fischer said. ITIF released a report on “10 Policy Principles” for IoT. “Many Internet of Things projects will benefit from government agencies establishing partnerships with both the private sector and others in government,” said the report. “In particular, funding these types of projects can be challenging for cities with limited budgets,” it said. “Since subjecting these technologies to lengthy regulatory review processes can delay these benefits from reaching consumers, policymakers should work to ensure that these processes are as efficient as possible,” said ITIF.
President Barack Obama signed the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization bill (HR-5728) into law Thursday, the White House announced.
The Senate Commerce Committee may include Republican FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s renomination for a full term on its agenda for a Tuesday executive session. “I think so,” Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., told us Wednesday of the possibility of including O’Rielly. The session will happen Tuesday just off the Senate floor, with time, place and agenda not yet announced. The White House this fall renominated O’Rielly for a full five-year term. The term he had been filling expired this summer, and he's empowered as a commissioner through the end of next year, or until a successor is named. Rockefeller had missed a meeting Wednesday on whether O’Rielly and possibly another nominee, presumably a Democrat, would be on the agenda. “What you try to do is you need one from each side,” Rockefeller said. Senate Commerce ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., has wanted O’Rielly’s renomination advanced by the end of this year. “It’s what we should be doing,” Rockefeller said, saying he had his own interest in advancing the other potential nominee with whom O’Rielly could be paired. Spokespeople for Rockefeller and Thune didn't comment further Thursday.
House Judiciary IP Subcommittee members Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Doug Collins, R-Ga., will be the subcommittee’s new GOP leaders, said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., in a news release Thursday. Issa will be the new chair of the subcommittee and Collins will be vice chair. Collins said in an interview that he’s “thrilled” to be working with Issa and the two will make a “good tag-team.” “All copyright related issues will be handled” by the House Judiciary Committee, not the IP subcommittee, said the Goodlatte release.
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on sports blackouts Thursday will include Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as a sole witness at its first panel. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is presiding over the hearing and has introduced sports blackout legislation with McCain. McCain is not a member of Judiciary. The hearing will also have a second panel of witnesses, according to the committee website: Sports Fan Coalition Chairman David Goodfriend; National Consumers League Executive Director Sally Greenberg; FCC Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake; and Covington & Burling partner Gerry Waldron. The hearing will be at 10:15 a.m. in 226 Dirksen.
The House Communications Subcommittee will have 18 Republican members in the 114th Congress, the Commerce Committee said Wednesday in a news release. The subcommittee has 16 Republicans in the 113th Congress, most of whom will remain on the subcommittee next year. GOP departures include Reps. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who was elected to the Senate; Lee Terry, R-Neb., who lost his re-election bid; and Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who's retiring. New subcommittee members are Reps. Gus Bilirakis of Florida, Chris Collins of New York, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Bill Johnson of Ohio and Pete Olson of Texas.
The Senate Commerce Committee will consider nominations in a session off the Senate floor Tuesday, it said in a notice this week. It didn't list the nominations it would consider, but the renomination of Republican FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly is pending before the committee. Committee Republicans have voiced a desire to advance the O’Rielly renomination before year’s end. Commerce had postponed a nominations executive session last month, and a Republican aide had told us O'Rielly was not on that agenda. Commerce didn't give a specific time or location.
The House Commerce Committee postponed its Dec. 10 FCC oversight hearing, a committee aide told us. The Communications Subcommittee had sought all five FCC commissioners and planned to focus on net neutrality. Lawmakers postponed the hearing for scheduling reasons, the aide said, referring to the delay in the agency's consideration of its net neutrality order. That delay will allow lawmakers to track that proceeding and question FCC commissioners in the next Congress, the aide said, saying that hearing would be closer to when the agency decides on net neutrality rules.
House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, blasted what he considers unnecessary federal regulation. “At the end of last year, the administration had nearly 4,000 new regulations pending, with almost 200 of these considered economically significant, meaning they would each carry a cost of at least $100 million a year,” Latta said in an op-ed for The Hill Monday. “Regulatory uncertainty -- both now and in the future -- continues to stagnate wages and prevents many of our businesses, small and large, from hiring.” He criticized regulation generally in the op-ed but has focused often on the FCC and telecom concerns. “With the regulatory cost per household totaling nearly $15,000 per year, or 23 percent of the national average family income, federal regulations are squeezing American families’ already limited wallets and curbing our nation’s prosperity,” Latta said.