The Senate confirmed Lucy Koh to sit on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (see 2112100008). The party-line vote was 50-45 Monday.
The Senate voted 86-13 Tuesday to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the compromise FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (S-1605). A final vote is expected Wednesday. The conference NDAA, which the House passed last week, jettisoned some previously included telecom language but retains text directing DOD to brief the National Security Council on “potential harmful interference” to GPS posed by Ligado’s planned L-band operations (see 2112080070). Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., and other lawmakers are eyeing other vehicles for advancing cybersecurity proposals also excised from S-1605 (see 2112130062).
Top Republicans on the House and Senate Commerce committees pressed the FCC Monday for information on the agency’s response to the Office of Inspector General’s November report that some emergency broadband benefit providers were falsely claiming a child in a household attended a qualifying low-income school (see 2111220058). Commissioner Brendan Carr said he was “kept in the dark” about the OIG’s findings until the report’s public release (see 2111230067). OIG’s recent findings and past federal watchdog reports about “fraud and abuse” in other FCC programs “raise serious questions about” the commission’s “ability to oversee and manage its programs,” Senate Commerce ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi, House Commerce ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington and the GOP ranking members of the Communications subcommittees wrote FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. They noted a 2020 GAO report that said the FCC’s oversight of its E-rate program was “insufficient … to identify potential fraud risks” (see 2009160081). “The upcoming transition of the EBB” to the $14.2 billion affordable connectivity program enacted via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “provides further reason for concern,” the GOP lawmakers said. “Unlike other FCC subsidy programs, the ACP will be funded through appropriations, rather than Universal Service Fund contributions. We are concerned that the FCC may proceed with rules for a permanent ACP that do not adequately protect American taxpayers or best serve eligible households.” The lawmakers want Rosenworcel to explain by Jan. 7 when her office became “aware of fraud” in EBB, if the FCC has identified the providers that committed fraud and what actions the agency will take to “confirm the eligibility of current EBB recipients.” They also want to know whether Rosenworcel will seek comment on draft rules for ACP “from other commissioners and the public” and if the FCC will take steps to ensure “future enrollees” are eligible for the revised program. The FCC didn’t comment.
The Senate plans a Tuesday vote on invoking cloture on the compromise conference version of the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (S-1605). The conference NDAA, which the House passed Tuesday, jettisoned some previously included telecom language but retains text directing DOD to brief the National Security Council on “potential harmful interference” to GPS posed by Ligado’s planned L-band operations (see 2112080070). The measure also expands on language from the FY 2021 NDAA that required DOD to estimate the cost of damage to department systems from Ligado's L-band use (see 2012040043), to now give the Pentagon explicit authority to seek recompense from the company. The National Emergency Number Association is "disappointed" lawmakers dropped language in the revised NDAA from the 911 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act (HR-2351) since the proposal to change 911 dispatchers' "federal classification from 'office support' to 'protective service' would cost nothing, but it would more accurately reflect their specialized training and skills, as well as their crucial role in public safety."
A Senate bill is intended to increase U.S. chip production and supply chains. Introduced by Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Gary Peters, D-Mich.; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., the Investing in Domestic Semiconductor Manufacturing Act would ensure federal incentives to “boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing include U.S. suppliers that produce the materials and manufacturing equipment that enable semiconductor manufacturing,” they said. The legislation is related to the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act. It would “clarify eligibility for the semiconductor Financial Assistance Program at the Department of Commerce,” said Portman, “ensuring that semiconductor equipment and materials manufacturers have a seat at the table.”
The Senate plans to vote Monday on confirmation for 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judicial nominee Lucy Koh. The chamber voted 51-38 Thursday to invoke cloture on Koh, a U.S. District judge in San Jose who presided over many tech sector intellectual property cases (see 2008190043). The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Koh's nomination in October despite resistance from some Republicans (see 2110280044).
Legislation introduced Thursday would require social media companies to “provide vetted, independent researchers and the public with access to certain platform data.” Introduced by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; and Chris Coons, D-Del., the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act is intended to increase transparency into companies’ internal data, which was a focus of the recent Facebook whistleblower testimony. Independent researchers would submit proposals to the National Science Foundation, and if approved, the companies would have to provide the “necessary data subject to certain privacy protections.”
Legislation reintroduced Wednesday would ban large online platforms from using deceptive designs “to trick consumers” into sharing personal data (see 2104290080). Refiled by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va.; Sens. Deb Fischer, R-Neb.; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; and John Thune, R-S.D.; and Reps. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, and Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., the Deceptive Experiences to Online Users Reduction (Detour) Act attempts to address dark patterns, or interfaces used to “manipulate users into taking actions they would otherwise not.”
The House voted 363-70 Tuesday to pass a compromise conference version of the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act using S-1605 as a legislative vehicle. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Cybersecurity Subcommittee Chair Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., raised concerns before the vote about Capitol Hill leaders’ decision to jettison cyber incident response language from the conference NDAA (see 2112070067). The compromise measure jettisons some telecom language (see 2109240067) from the earlier House-passed NDAA (HR-4350), including the text of the 911 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act (HR-2351) and Promoting U.S. Wireless Leadership Act (HR-3003). It retains House-passed language directing DOD to brief the National Security Council on “potential harmful interference” to GPS posed by Ligado’s planned L-band operations and an authorization for each secretary of a military department to establish a pilot program to evaluate the feasibility of deploying telecom infrastructure to expedite 5G on military installations (see 2109020074). The revised NDAA now heads to the Senate, which earlier grappled with how to reach a deal on its own list of telecom and tech amendments.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., filed the Robocall Trace Back Enhancement Act Wednesday, which they describe as a follow-up to the 2019 Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act (see 1912310028). The new measure would bolster private sector-led work to trace back the origins of “illegal and bothersome” robocalls, Markey’s office said. The Traced Act “is already having an impact stopping illegal robocalls by blocking fraudulent calls before our cell phones even ring” and the new bill “is a natural extension” of the law, Markey said in a news release. “This legislation makes it easier to root out bad actors who illegally robocall countless phone numbers by promoting public accountability among, and aggressive action against, those responsible for illegal, fraudulent, and abusive robocalls.” The proposal “would build on” the Traced Act “by supporting privately led efforts to trace back and identify the origins of the calls,” Thune said. “We must continue to hold these bad actors accountable.” The lawmakers cited support from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who says the commission is “hard at work to trace and root out scam robocalls. But more tools are always welcome in this fight.”