Thune Wants to Move FAA Reauthorization Before August Recess, 'Still Interested' in FCC Reauth
One legislative goal Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., wants to address before the August recess is Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization, he said in an interview Thursday. “It’ll get into the drone stuff,” he said. “There are some areas where you’ll have some telecommunications issues that intersect with that agenda, too.” Those topics have spurred interest from other lawmakers, with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., taking a stab at drone privacy legislation earlier this year (see 1703200029). The horizon for the Senate, full with debates over healthcare overhaul and the firing of FBI Director James Comey, doesn't appear loaded with telecom legislative action, at least immediately.
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Senate Commerce is planning a markup for next week, Thune confirmed. This will be the third markup of 2017, following one in January and one in April. One telecom industry lobbyist said that session is on deck for Thursday and not to expect much telecom. “We’re looking at doing a markup I think maybe in the next week,” Thune told us. “So we’re moving forward with some of the stuff we’ve been working on.”
Senate Commerce’s legislative agenda has included some telecom policy in the year's first five months. Its January markup was devoted to clearing bipartisan measures reintroduced from last Congress: Mobile Now (S-19), the Senior Fraud Prevention Act (S-81), Digit Act (S-88), Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act (S-96), Sandy Act (S-102), Kari’s Law Act (S-123), Spoofing Prevention Act (S-134) and the FCC Consolidated Reporting Act (S-174). The April markup saw the clearing of the Making Available Information Now to Strengthen Trust and Resilience and Enhance Enterprise Technology Cybersecurity Act (S-770).
Senate Commerce has held hearings in 2017 on broadband infrastructure deployment, with an eye toward the Trump administration’s promised package on infrastructure. No other major items seem to be immediately pending behind the scenes on the Senate side, Thune said: “We’re looking at some stuff in the rural deployment space.”
In January, Thune laid out an agenda of several items for the year -- Mobile Now, additional legislation on broadband deployment and spectrum legislation and eventually open internet compromise legislation if possible (see 1701230071). He eyed reviving the FCC Reauthorization Act in some form (see 1701040067), a bill that, like Mobile Now and others, stalled last year in a fight over FCC nominations. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has told Thune he wants to move Jessica Rosenworcel, a former commissioner, as a Democratic nominee before letting Mobile Now through the floor (see 1705020061).
“Still interested in it,” Thune told us of FCC reauthorization. “I assume at some point we’ll move that, too. But we’d kind of like to get this deck cleared a little bit. ... Hopefully as soon as we get some FCC noms up here, that might free up some things.”
Various telecom measures have been filed throughout 2017, despite none known to be on deck for the markup next week. The latest bipartisan measure is the Rural Wireless Act, which would force the FCC to ensure standardized data collection for USF support eligibility and was introduced Thursday. "Requiring the FCC to establish data collection standards that reflect consumers’ real world experiences before making funding decisions ensures support is directed to areas where it is needed the most,” Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry said. The bill was filed by Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Deb Fischer, R-Neb.; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Gary Peters, D-Mich.; and Jerry Moran, R-Kan.
Other measures are out for potential markup. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., introduced the Gigabit Opportunity Act (S-1013), lacking in co-sponsors and receiving praise from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, last month introduced S-875, which would require GAO “to conduct a study and submit a report on filing requirements under the Universal Service Fund programs." That report “must analyze the financial impact of those filing requirements and provide any recommendations on how to consolidate redundant filing requirements,” the summary said. “After receiving the GAO's report, the FCC must initiate a rulemaking to consolidate redundant filing requirements and incorporate any GAO recommendations that would not violate the Administrative Procedure Act into such rulemaking or any ongoing rulemakings.” Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Klobuchar floated a draft bill on Next-Generation 911 (see 1702280062). One bipartisan bill is the Preserving State Commission Oversight Act (see 1702160074). Manchin introduced a bill to create a Rural Telecommunications and Broadband Advisory Committee (see 1702030029).