Two top Senate Armed Services Committee Republicans are voicing differing reviews of DOD’s recent proposal to the wireless industry to make 420 MHz from current military-controlled frequencies available for FCC auction while maintaining the Pentagon’s grip on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band (see 2504040068). Other lawmakers are skeptical that the proposal would lead to real progress toward an elusive spectrum legislative deal. Lobbyists pointed to the DOD proposal as aiming to dispel perceptions of an intransigent Pentagon but said it falls far short of the sort of compromise that Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, would likely accept.
President Donald Trump intends to request that Congress claw back about $1.1 billion in advance CPB funding as part of a broader $9.3 billion funding rescission package, White House OMB Director Russell Vought confirmed Tuesday. Set for later this month, the proposal reportedly targets $535 million in advance annual funding for CPB in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, which Congress allocated as part of an FY 2024 appropriations package (see 2403210067) and March continuing resolution that extended the allocation through Sept. 30. Congressional Republicans have shown growing interest since January in ending federal funding for public broadcasters amid rancor over what they perceive as pro-Democratic bias in news coverage (see 2502030064).
Some Senate Commerce Committee Democrats gave Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty a more positive reception during her Wednesday confirmation hearing than observers were expecting, though they used questions to hammer Chairman Brendan Carr’s actions since taking the gavel Jan. 20 and voice concerns about the agency's loss of independence during the Trump administration (see 2504080066). Panel Democrats delivered a harsher verdict to NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth, who advanced Wednesday on a nearly party-line vote of 16-12, as expected (see 2504080059). Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to buck his party's opposition (see 2504090037).
Communications policy-focused lobbyists and other observers expect most Senate Commerce Committee Democrats will vote against advancing NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth on Wednesday, they told us. Democrats’ criticism of Roth won't ultimately threaten her prospects, though, as observers said they expect Senate Commerce Republicans to almost uniformly support her. Senate Commerce's meeting to vote on Roth will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell. Lawmakers and observers said they expect Democrats to be equally, if not more, critical of Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty during a confirmation hearing that will immediately follow the Roth vote (see 2504080066).
DOD has floated a compromise to the wireless industry that vacates military-controlled bands to 420 MHz available for FCC auction while maintaining its grip on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band, the main battleground in Capitol Hill’s protracted talks on a compromise airwaves legislative package. DOD’s proposal, first reported by Punchbowl News, circulated as the Senate prepared to move on an amended version of the House-passed budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 14), which will provide a blueprint for a coming reconciliation package that Republicans hope to use to move spectrum legislation (see 2501290057).
Senate Communications Subcommittee Chair Deb Fischer, R-Neb., pressed the nominee for Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, during his Armed Services Committee confirmation Tuesday on whether he thinks DOD should have a “meaningful co-leadership” role “in any interagency determinations about the future use of federal spectrum.” A leading opponent of efforts to use a coming budget reconciliation package to repurpose any DOD-controlled spectrum for commercial wireless use, Fischer has repeatedly brought up the matter during other military nominees’ confirmation hearings (see 2502270064). Her views on DOD spectrum put Fischer in conflict with Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas (see 2502190068).
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, revealed during a Thursday hearing that multiple commercial aircraft landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) March 1 received false traffic alert collision avoidance system (TCAS) alerts because the Secret Service and U.S. Navy were “improperly testing counter drone technology” in the area on the L-band, “the same spectrum band as TCAS.” The disclosure also factored into Senate Commerce's confirmation hearing for NTIA nominee Arielle Roth (see 2503270065), which examined her spectrum policy views.
House Oversight Committee members in both parties appeared not to move from their existing positions on cutting federal CPB funding after a dramatic Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee hearing on perceived public broadcasting bias Wednesday (see 2503210040). GOP lawmakers appeared to still favor zeroing the money, with some telling us they want to push it through via a coming budget reconciliation package rather than wait for the FY 2026 appropriations process. Democrats backed maintaining the CPB appropriation and mocked Republicans for holding the hearing instead of probing perceived Trump administration abuses. CPB funding opponents got a boost when President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday afternoon that he “would love to” see Congress defund public broadcasters.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, praised Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during a Free State Foundation event Tuesday for moving toward what he hopes will be a major overhaul of NTIA’s $42.5 billion BEAD program. Other panel members told us they plan to grill agency administrator nominee Arielle Roth on the issue during her Thursday confirmation hearing. Lobbyists we spoke with expect Roth will face heat from Senate Commerce Democrats on BEAD because she's the committee Republicans’ telecom policy director, but they don’t believe this means the nominee will face an otherwise contentious reception. Thursday's hearing is set for 2:15 p.m. in 253 Russell.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Thursday night that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is “exactly right” in urging Congress to mandate a pipeline of reallocated spectrum in conjunction with a restoration of the commission's lapsed auction authority. Carr said in a letter to Cruz and other leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees that enacting “legislation that establishes a new pipeline of mid-band spectrum is vital to our economy and national security.” The FCC, Carr said, “will make any and all of the spectrum allocations and license changes necessary to comply” with any new statute.