President Joe Biden plans to sign “very soon” the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684) once “the congressional members” involved in getting the measure through both chambers “come back” from a weeklong recess, meaning it likely won't happen until at least Nov. 15, White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday. The House voted 228-206 Friday to agree to the Senate-passed version of HR-3684, which includes $65 billion for broadband (see 2108020061). The Senate approved the bill in August (see 2108100062). The measure will make “high-speed internet affordable and available everywhere in America,” Biden said Saturday. “No parent should have to sit in a parking lot of a fast food restaurant so their child can do their homework because they have no” other broadband connection. Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., touted HR-3684 as “the most significant investment in our nation’s infrastructure in generations,” including for broadband. “Every community -- regardless of zip code -- needs and deserves access to reliable, affordable, high-speed internet, and with today’s action we take a giant step toward making that a reality,” said House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D- N.J., Friday. Communications stakeholders praised House passage, including ACA Connects, American Library Association, Connect Americans Now, Fiber Broadband Association, Free Press, Frontier Communications, Incompas, Internet Innovation Alliance, National Governors Association, NTCA, Public Knowledge, TechNet, Wireless Infrastructure Association, Wireless ISP Association and WTA.
Legislation introduced Friday would require large tech companies to prove their potential acquisitions of rivals aren’t anticompetitive. Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced the Platform Competition and Opportunity Act, as expected (see 2110250055). It would apply to companies with a market capitalization of $600 billion at enactment. The bill is a companion to legislation introduced by Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. (see 2106110070). Klobuchar previously introduced a bipartisan bill with Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, mirroring a House bill on self-preferencing. “With a bill like this in place, truly innovative ideas that are disruptive to the Big Tech status quo will have a chance to flourish,” said Public Knowledge Competition Policy Director Charlotte Slaimant about the latest bill. “The answer is to make clear that predatory behavior -- like Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp -- will no longer be tolerated,” said Public Citizen Competition Policy Advocate Alex Harman. “This legislation will do just that and is an important step towards reining in the power of these companies that believe they should be above the law.” Among the companies with $600 billion market cap are Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, Meta, Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.
A bipartisan group of senators introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act Friday that would require critical infrastructure operators to report major cyber incidents to the federal government. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., and ranking member Rob Portman, R-Ohio, introduced the amendment with Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, as expected (see 2110060077). Companies and federal agencies would have to report to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within 72 hours of an incident, and most entities would have to report ransomware payments. The amendment is based on legislation passed by the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Friday she plans to press forward with plans to hold floor votes that day on the Senate-passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684) and a rule setting up consideration of the Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package (HR-5376) despite opposition from Congressional Progressive Caucus leaders. House Democratic leaders set up the votes as a compromise aimed at advancing HR-3684 while appeasing Communications Subcommittee member Kurt Schrader of Oregon and five other party centrists who are withholding support for HR-5376 until the Congressional Budget Office releases a score on that measure, a process that may take weeks. HR-5376 would fail if all six centrists voted against it since all House Republicans are expected to oppose the measure. “As we’ve consistently said, there are dozens of our members who want to vote both bills … out of the House together,” said CPC Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., in a statement. “If our six colleagues still want to wait for a CBO score, we would agree to give them that time -- after which point we can vote on both bills together.” Pelosi later told reporters she believes "there are a large number of" CPC members "who will vote for" HR-3684 without simultaneous consideration of HR-5376. "I have" a "secret whip count" and "a pretty good feel" for where the Democratic caucus stands, she said. President Joe Biden urged House members earlier Friday to pass HR-3684 and HR-5376, saying that would “say clearly to the American people ‘we hear your voices. We’re going to invest in your hopes.’” Both measures include billions of dollars for broadband, though the amount in a Thursday revised draft of HR-5376 is significantly lower than Democrats originally sought (see 2110280074). Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., praised lawmakers for including her Local Journalism Sustainability Act (HR-3940/S-2434) in HR-5376. “Local journalism is essential to our democracy, we cannot let local & regional newsrooms continue to die in this challenging information age,” she tweeted. HR-3940/S-2434 would provide up to $5,000 in tax credits for local businesses that buy radio, TV and newspaper ads, and up to $25,000 for local news organizations to hire journalists.
The House voted 410-16 Thursday to pass the Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility (E-Bridge) Act. HR-3193, which the Infrastructure Committee advanced in July (see 2107280065), would ease access to Economic Development Administration grants for broadband projects, allowing the agency to award the money to public-private partnerships and consortiums. The House passed a trio of cybersecurity bills earlier this week -- the Small Business Administration Cyber Awareness Act (HR-3462), Small Business Advanced Cybersecurity Enhancements Act (HR-4513) and Small Business Development Center Cyber Training Act (HR-4515).
A National Defense Authorization Act amendment introduced Thursday would require online marketplaces like Amazon to verify third-party sellers in an effort to combat fake and stolen goods (see 2111020061). Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced the Inform Consumers Act (S-936) after holding a hearing Tuesday. It includes the latest text from a bill negotiated in the House. It “ensures a baseline level of transparency for online marketplaces -- like Amazon -- and will help promote responsible marketplace behavior,” said Durbin.
Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., met Wednesday with renominated FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Lujan tweeted he was “incredibly honored to meet with” Rosenworcel, dubbing her Biden’s “highly-qualified choice” to lead the FCC. “Under her leadership, the FCC has taken tremendous strides to improve broadband access and I’m eager to continue working with her in this expanded role,” he said. Lujan was among 25 Senate Democrats who pressed President Joe Biden in September to name Rosenworcel permanent chair (see 2109230064). Biden renominated Rosenworcel last month, while picking Democratic commission nominee Gigi Sohn and NTIA administrator nominee Alan Davidson. A Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the nominees is expected on or around Nov. 17 (see 2111020051).
House Republicans issued draft legislation Wednesday that would establish a national privacy law and an FTC privacy bureau. Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Wash., and Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Gus Bilirakis, Fla., said the U.S. needs a national standard that supports small business, promotes transparency and incentivizes data security. Republicans laid out principles to guide the legislative discussion. They announced various assignment areas for members, including proper data retention practices to protect cybersecurity, blockchain technology, privacy-by-design policies, anti-discrimination and proper FTC and state attorney general enforcement. “Moving beyond a patchwork of state and local laws will ensure consumers are protected no matter where they live in the United States,” said Internet Association CEO Dane Snowden. “The bill properly prioritizes a primary FTC enforcement approach and gives consumers meaningful controls over their own data.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California told reporters Tuesday she believed negotiations within the Democratic caucus on a deal to advance the Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package (HR-5376) “could be resolved by the end of the day.” A final deal on the package could open up the possibility of floor votes this week on that measure and the Senate-passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684), which stalled in the House amid a refusal by Congressional Progressive Caucus members to vote for that bill until negotiations on the reconciliation legislation conclude. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced a deal on some aspects of the reconciliation package Tuesday afternoon, but no deal was final then. Both measures include billions of dollars for broadband, though the amount in a Thursday revised draft of HR-5376 is significantly lower than Democrats originally sought (see 2110280074).
The Senate Commerce Committee plans a confirmation hearing around Nov. 17 for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Democratic commission nominee Gigi Sohn, as expected (see 2111010061), committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Monday. Nov. 17 is the likeliest date for the meeting, but it could happen “the day before or the day after,” Cantwell said. It will certainly happen “that week.” The hearing may also include NTIA administrator nominee Alan Davidson, but that hasn’t been finalized, she said. Senate Democrats hope to fast-track confirmation during the limited legislative time left this year following President Joe Biden’s nomination of the trio last week (see 2110260076).