Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., introduced the Closing the Digital Divide for Students Act (HR-5834) Thursday, promising improved broadband access for low-income students. “I’ve introduced this legislation to close the digital divide and ensure that students living in poverty have the tools they need to compete with their peers and work towards a brighter future,” Foster said in a statement. In the utility allowance for public housing, the costs of high-speed Internet should be included and not “exceed the lowest cost available in the area of such housing for such high-speed Internet service” and “include any costs for cable or satellite television service or for joint packages for Internet service together with cable or satellite television service,” said the bill text. Foster has one co-sponsor, Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., and the bill was referred to the House Financial Services Committee.
CEA hailed Senate passage of legislation (S-2791) exempting for four years external power supplies from energy conservation rules set by the Department of Energy in February. External power supplies will be exempt from DOE rules if they’re manufactured between Feb. 10, 2016, and Feb. 10, 2020, the text of S-2791 says. "We applaud the Senate’s passage of this important technical amendment, which recognizes the need for replacement chargers for products manufactured before the effective date of DOE’s latest regulation," said Doug Johnson, CEA vice president-technology policy, in a statement Friday. External power supplies "are used with a wide range of consumer electronics -- laptops and tablets, printers and routers, and cordless telephones -- and this bill will facilitate warranty and contract compliance by manufacturers, as well as manufacturer compliance with state parts retention laws," Johnson said.
The response Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., received from ISPs on his request for pledges not to engage in Internet fast lanes is “disappointing,” he said in a statement Friday. Leahy had sent letters to AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon asking them to pledge not to form fast lanes (see 1410230041). “They all maintained that they do not currently plan to engage in paid prioritization; an assertion I welcome,” he said. “What they did not do was answer my call for a firm commitment that they will never engage in that behavior in the absence of clear rules prohibiting such deals.” Leahy has held hearings on net neutrality this year and called for strong protections. “It is not ‘demagoguery,’ as Verizon suggested in its response, when small business owners like Cabot Orton of the Vermont Country Store say that they simply want to see an Internet that continues to treat all businesses equally,” Leahy said. “It is not a ‘phantasm’ when independent content creators like actress Ruth Livier acknowledge that they would not have been able to start their websites if they had to pay for priority access to reach viewers online, or compete against players who did.”
Democrats will lose one member on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress, according to a roster circulated among industry officials Friday. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, is not listed under Judiciary in that roster. Other Judiciary Democrats will remain. The committee has 10 Democrats now and will have nine. Among other changes in the next Congress, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., will become the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Aging, which occasionally has dealt with telecom issues. The top Democrat on that committee now is Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who will become ranking member of Commerce. Hirono became a senator last year.
Brinkmanship continued in the advancement of the omnibus government funding package, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (HR-83). The House passed the bicameral compromise Thursday 219-206. The vote wasn't along party lines, with 162 Republicans and 57 Democrats backing the bill and 67 Republicans and 139 Democrats opposing it. The White House reluctantly backed the package, while House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., opposed it. Congress had also advanced and the White House signed a short-term funding extension (HR-Res. 130) to keep the government funded through Saturday, since government funding ran out Thursday. The omnibus package includes several telecom riders, extending the Internet Tax Freedom Act by one year, temporarily forbidding NTIA from using its funds for the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition and forcing the FCC to clarify the waiver process on broadcaster joint sales agreements, in addition to funding agencies including the FCC and FTC (see 1412100041). It would fund the FCC at $340 million in FY2015, the same amount as the previous year and less than requested by several million. “I hope we can complete work on this bill as early as later today, but that depends on everyone’s cooperation,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said on the Senate floor Friday. Democratic and Republican senators criticized the package for reasons unrelated to telecom. The Senate hadn't approved the package by our deadline. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters at the Capitol Friday that he still expects the funding battles to resolve in the next day or so and that Congress will not be in session this week.
Jason Everett was upped to Democratic chief counsel to the House Judiciary IP Subcommittee, said a House Judiciary spokeswoman Thursday. Everett was Democratic counsel to the subcommittee. David Greengrass, former legislative director to House Judiciary Committee member Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., will join the IP subcommittee as Democratic counsel.
The White House backs the passage of the government-funding omnibus package, known as the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (HR-83), it said Thursday. The White House does object to “the inclusion of ideological and special interest riders,” it also said, not naming any telecom or media items. This package would be responsible for funding the FCC, FTC, NTIA and other parts of the government, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security, through FY2015 and includes several provisions affecting telecom and media policy (see 1412100041). The funding bill has received backlash for different reasons from Democrats and Republicans in both chambers, and the House hadn't approved it at our deadline. Funding for the government was to expire at midnight Thursday, with speculation rampant that Congress will need to pass a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government for the next few days as it advances the omnibus. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was lobbying to change the bill, circulating a letter to Democratic colleagues Thursday during a break in House activity saying “it is clear from this recess on the floor that the Republicans don’t have enough votes” and calling for pressure to modify certain banking and campaign finance provisions. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, issued a statement saying he expected House passage of the package Thursday. Congress was initially expected to recess Thursday but will remain in session.
Bipartisan wireless legislation may yet be introduced in the Senate this Congress, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., confirmed Thursday in an interview at the Capitol. Rubio is, as expected (see 1412090051), working on legislation dealing with wireless siting to make it easier for carriers to build out on federal land, and partnering with Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. McCaskill spokespeople haven't confirmed that any legislation is in the works. Some people suspected an introduction as soon as Wednesday, but the legislation wasn't introduced then, and Rubio said the senators encountered a procedural snag. The lawmakers are “working through something” with the Capitol's parliamentarian, and it’s possible the bill could still be introduced this week, said Rubio. “We’re working on it,” he said. “I don’t know if it’ll be introduced in this Congress or the next. It might be [this week].” Congress was initially expected to recess Thursday but will remain in session to work through a government funding bill and certain other measures.
The House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees will have several new Republican members next Congress, the committees announced Wednesday. Judiciary will include Reps. Mike Bishop of Michigan; Ken Buck of Colorado; John Ratcliffe of Texas; Dave Trott of Michigan; and Mimi Walters of California. Homeland Security will now include Reps. Buddy Carter of Georgia; Will Hurd of Texas; John Katko of New York; Barry Loudermilk of Georgia; Martha McSally of Arizona; Ratcliffe; and Mark Walker of North Carolina. Democrats haven't announced new committee members.
The Senate Commerce Committee approved Tuesday night by voice vote the nomination of Willie May to be undersecretary of commerce for standards and technology . Lawmakers had met in an executive session to consider multiple nominees.