Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., introduced a bill Wednesday “to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the excise tax on telephone and other communications services,” its longer title said. The text of the legislation wasn't online. It has no co-sponsors and was referred to the Finance Committee, where Heller is a member. He's also a member of the Commerce Committee.
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., introduced legislation again to dismantle parts of the Lifeline program. He offered S-56 Wednesday, which would “prohibit universal service support of commercial mobile service through the Lifeline program,” its longer title said. Vitter is a new member of the Commerce Committee and has attacked elements of the Lifeline program in the past. The legislation has no co-sponsors and was referred to Commerce. The bill text wasn't posted online.
The Communications Act overhaul will be on the agenda Friday as the House Commerce Committee convenes for an organizational meeting at 9 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. The agenda includes adoption of committee rules, subcommittee jurisdictions, subcommittee members and leaders of both parties, and the committee’s 114th Congress oversight plan. The 11-page oversight plan includes multiple items Commerce will focus on -- a telecom law rewrite; the operations of the FCC, FTC and FirstNet; Internet governance; cybersecurity; privacy and data security; spectrum management; and broadband availability. “The Committee will pay particular attention to whether the FCC conducts cost-benefit and market analyses before imposing regulations,” the plan said. “The Committee will also conduct oversight to ensure compliance with existing processes, improve FCC procedures, and promote transparency.” Republicans already have named their subcommittee members and leaders. Commerce Democrats plan an organizational meeting Thursday (see 1501050039).
House lawmakers Wednesday reintroduced the Regulatory Accountability Act (HR-185), which would force “federal bureaucrats to adopt the least costly method to effectively implement the law,” a news release said. They posted the bill text, which includes provisions on how agencies conduct rulemakings and what must occur when they issue major or high-impact rules. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., are the bill’s primary backers. It “addresses the problem of escalating, excessive federal regulatory costs in a clear, commonsense way that we can all support,” Goodlatte said in a statement. “This legislation directs the Executive Branch to fulfill its statutory goals set by Congress and requires simply that they reach those goals in the least costly way with better public input to find the most efficient regulatory solutions.” The House passed the legislation in the 113th Congress but it never made it through the Senate.
Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., became part of Senate GOP leadership Tuesday. Fischer is a member of the Commerce Committee in this Congress and has been part of the Communications Subcommittee, which has not yet released members for the new Congress. She has outlined an ambitious tech and telecom agenda. Former Hill staffers have told us it’s helpful in moving pieces of legislation when the backers belong to the leadership (see 1411180038). Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appointed Fischer one of four counsels to the majority leader of the 114th Congress, which officially began Tuesday. Another counsel is Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a member of the Judiciary Committee. “This position will give me the unique opportunity to present the concerns of Nebraskans directly to Republican Leadership at our weekly meetings and add a new perspective to our conference,” Fischer said in a statement.
Overhauling the Communications Act is a key priority for House Republicans of the Commerce Committee in the 114th Congress, Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said in a 12-page report released Tuesday. “The panel has already collected stakeholder input and convened a series of expert witnesses via hearings to set the stage for an update to the Communications Act -- a law written in the telegraph era and last updated when Palm Pilots were at the cutting edge,” the report said. Another priority is “protecting consumers and commerce in the Internet age,” it said. “Today, that commerce increasingly occurs in cyberspace, which is why the committee and the [Trade] subcommittee in particular will be focused on data security and the implications of cyber threats to American commerce.” The report included what it considered accomplishments of the 113th Congress, such as keeping a “watchful eye” on the FCC and keeping “up the bipartisan pressure to protect the multi-stakeholder approach to Internet governance that has fostered freedom and innovation around the world."
CTIA said federal law should prevent the FCC from regulating wireless as a Communications Act Title II service. “The Congressional framework for regulating wireless services -- specifically Section 332 of the Communications Act -- prohibits the application of Title II common carrier regulation to mobile broadband,” Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann said in a post Tuesday. “Yet again, when it comes to Net Neutrality, wireless is different.” CTIA submitted a legal white paper to the FCC making the same argument last month.
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., thanked mobile taxi service Lyft in a news release Monday for clarifying some of its data collection practices, but said “important questions” remain “unresolved.” Lyft said in a Dec. 30 letter to Franken that it has taken “steps towards restricting access to customer trip data,” but some customer data is necessary for Lyft to perform its services adequately. “I was pleased to receive a response from Lyft, and I appreciate the company’s effort to provide thorough answers,” said Franken in the release. “I look forward to further discussing these matters -- for example, how and why Lyft retains customer data and how access to customer records is determined,” he said. Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Bill Nelson, D-Fla., sent letters last month to the CEOs of Uber and Lyft inquiring about the companies’ privacy and data security policies (see 1412230040).
House Commerce Committee Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., hammered the FCC again Monday for its interest in creating net neutrality rules. “Of course net neutrality rules would be damaging,” Blackburn said during a Fox Business news program interview, which she posted. Blackburn lamented Communications Act Title II reclassification of broadband and said it would impose taxes “on your broadband providers, an estimate of $15 billion in new taxes that would come in through a Title II regulation,” a position that has been contested (see 1412010035). “It is called companies trying to find a way to transact business,” she said of Comcast's hammering out a peering deal with Netflix. “Let’s leave it to the private sector.” She said innovators shouldn't need to seek FCC permission before proceeding with innovation, citing the ongoing CES show in Las Vegas and what innovators there would think. “What we don’t want to see is the FCC usurping that authority so they are assigning priority and value to content,” Blackburn said. “The FCC needs to get out of the way and let innovation take place.” Congressional Democrats have largely backed net neutrality rules, some pushing for Title II reclassification.
Incoming Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, will chair the House Homeland Security Committee’s Cybersecurity Subcommittee in the 114th Congress, said Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas. Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., led the subcommittee during the 113th Congress. Ratcliffe, a former U.S. attorney, defeated incumbent Rep. Ralph Hall in a Republican primary in May.