Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, reintroduced the Global Trade Accountability Act, a bill that would not allow any presidential hike in tariffs, tightening of tariff-rate quotas or other import restrictions without congressional approval. Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., co-sponsored the bill, which was first introduced in 2017. Temporary tariffs or quotas would be allowed under a national emergency but would expire after 90 days without congressional approval. “Congress has ceded far too much of its lawmaking power to the executive branch, including the power to unilaterally raise tariffs,” said Lee Thursday. “Sudden hikes in trade barriers can have real and devastating impacts on American small businesses, farmers, and families, including in my home state of Utah.” Paul said that "as a constitutional republic, tax increases should never be imposed by the whim of one person.”
An NPRM on emergency alerting and an order on sharing outage report information with state and local agencies are expected to be approved with few changes at the FCC commissioners' meeting Wednesday, likely unanimously, according to industry officials.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, reintroduced the Global Trade Accountability Act, a bill that would not allow any hike in tariffs, tightening of tariff-rate quotas, or other restrictions on imports to go forward unless the House and Senate approve. Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., co-sponsored the bill, which was first introduced in 2017. Temporary tariffs or quotas would be allowed under a national emergency but would expire after 90 days without congressional approval. “Congress has ceded far too much of its lawmaking power to the executive branch, including the power to unilaterally raise tariffs,” Lee said in a March 11 news release. “Sudden hikes in trade barriers can have real and devastating impacts on American small businesses, farmers, and families, including in my home state of Utah.” Paul said that in “a constitutional republic, tax increases should never be imposed by the whim of one person.”
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on ways the agency can help boost the competitiveness and capacity of the U.S. semiconductor industry, according to a notice issued March 11. The comments, due April 5, will help inform the Commerce Department’s policy recommendations to the White House as part of a February executive order to address supply chain shortages of semiconductor chips (see 2102240068).
The Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking comments on ways the agency can help boost the competitiveness and capacity of the U.S. semiconductor industry, it said in a notice issued March 11. The comments, due April 5, will help inform the Commerce Department’s policy recommendations to the White House as part of a February executive order to address supply chain shortages of semiconductor chips (see 2102240047).
The FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council approved a report Wednesday with recommendations on measuring risks and remediation costs in 911 and next-generation 911 networks. During its virtual meeting, CSRIC also OK'd reports on making standalone 5G networks more reliable and addressing session initiation protocol (SIP) security challenges. The meeting was the last under the group’s current charter and the first under President Joe Biden's administration.
The House voted 220-211 Wednesday to approve Senate-passed changes to the American Rescue Plan Act COVID-19 budget reconciliation package (HR-1319), paving the way for emergency E-rate remote learning money. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. It includes $7.17 billion for E-rate, $10 billion for state-level broadband and other infrastructure projects, and $175 million for CPB (see 2103080057). Deputy commerce secretary nominee Don Graves, meanwhile, cited his interest in increasing rural broadband deployments during a Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing.
Homes that enroll in the FCC’s $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program could be forced to discontinue their services if the commission fails to take additional action (see 2102260058), advocates said in interviews. Some suggested now is the time to consider how to update Lifeline before money runs out.
The National Emergency Number Association’s 3D Geoinformation Systems Working Group is making “significant progress toward requirements for using 3D location data” and will submit a report to the FCC Public Safety Bureau in the next few weeks, CEO Brian Fontes and others told an aide to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The time for providers “to deliver vertical location information is now,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 07-114: “The sooner … providers can convey vertical location information, the sooner 9-1-1 can set about to extracting the greatest possible value from this information.”
Meetings make states hopeful about closer FCC rapport under President Joe Biden, said officials from NARUC and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates in recent interviews. Local officials seek a louder voice at the federal agency. “The relationship between state commissions and the FCC over the last four years” under then-President Donald Trump was “less than an example of cooperative federalism,” said NARUC President Paul Kjellander. FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel reacted favorably to states' hopes.