Nelson Prioritizes 'Working Out Net Neutrality First' Before FCC Reauthorization Bill
Senate efforts to overhaul FCC process hit the brakes due to a bigger committee leadership focus on the regular, ongoing net neutrality negotiations, the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee said last week in an interview. His comments confirm what telecom and media industry officials told us weeks ago (see 1509210052). Those FCC process measures are wrapped up in an FCC reauthorization bill that Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., has wanted since the beginning of the year. His staffers first began circulating a reauthorization draft among industry lobbyists in early June, but progress has stalled since summer.
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“We’re trying to work out the net neutrality first,” Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., told us when asked about FCC reauthorization negotiation. He hesitated to say that any FCC reauthorization bill is on hold and said he didn’t know that for sure. “The main thorny issue that we’ve been working on since January is net neutrality,” Nelson explained.
“It is what it is,” Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said in an interview, not disputing the idea of net neutrality negotiations putting a pause on FCC reauthorization moving forward. “We’re dealing with one thing at a time in the committee.”
The Senate Commerce Committee has not marked up any legislation in months, given the tight congressional calendar and monthlong recess in August. The committee marked up one piece of transportation legislation in July and last marked up telecom bills in June. Thune staffers initially hoped to include a bipartisan FCC reauthorization bill on the June markup agenda, and later both Thune and Nelson had told us they hoped to be able to include such bipartisan legislation on a possible July markup agenda. Thune and committee Republicans were “ready to go,” Thune insisted early that month. Committee staffers never publicly released any FCC reauthorization draft or description.
Congress is in recess this week following the Columbus Day holiday. Bigger Hill items requiring action upon its return include addressing long-term highway funding, the debt ceiling, House leadership battles and by Dec. 11, a plan for government funding once the current stopgap measure expires. Thune pushed back against the idea of marking up any telecom legislation soon, whether on net neutrality, FCC reauthorization or spectrum.
“I don’t know that we’ll have anything that will be ready to put out soon, but we’ve got some things that we’re working on, as I think you know,” Thune remarked. “And hopefully that window will open up at some point, but it’ll be a lot of other balls we’re juggling right now, too.”
Congress hasn’t reauthorized the FCC since 1990. Thune repeatedly said he wanted to get Nelson’s backing for the reauthorization bill and said he suspected it was possible, insisting the bill contained noncontroversial transparency pieces. Some of those pieces come from the process legislation of Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who backs including them in reauthorization. Democrats were believed to object to some provisions that would mandate FCC actions regarding economically significant rulemakings, but both Thune and Nelson had said during the summer they thought they could reach an agreement.
Thune and Nelson spokespeople didn’t comment on the current negotiations, whether for FCC reauthorization or open Internet legislation. No counterpart negotiation exists among House lawmakers, although House Republicans have prioritized similar agency process measures that Thune is believed to be including in reauthorization.
Nelson insisted that committee staffers from his office “absolutely are” still meeting with Thune’s on crafting net neutrality legislation and touted that work, as he has in months past. Both Thune and Nelson initially hoped to conclude those negotiations before adjourning in August but failed to do so. Thune spoke with Nelson about crafting a bill since before the year even began, then outlining ideas about how to codify open Internet protections while limiting the FCC’s reliance on Communications Act Title II for broadband service. Industry lobbyists have told us of these regular staff meetings and described particular focus and enthusiasm on the part of negotiators since the start of this fall. Hill Republicans’ attacks on the Internet order have subsided, at least for the moment. The power to fast-track the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval through the Senate has expired (see 1510020052), no committee in either chamber has advanced a stand-alone partisan bill attacking the measure, and the appropriations policy riders, introduced and advanced by committees in both chambers, are on hold as bicameral and bipartisan negotiators figure out what to do about the next funding deadline on Dec. 11.
“We’ve really made a lot of progress,” Nelson said of bipartisan net neutrality legislation, lighting up. “I’m encouraged!”