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.
The Senate Commerce Committee was scheduled to consider the nomination of Willie May to be undersecretary of commerce for standards and technology Tuesday around 6 p.m. in an executive session. The session was to take place off the Senate floor in S-216 between two roll call votes. The agenda did not include FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, a Republican the White House renominated for a full five-year term as commissioner. Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., had told us Commerce was discussing including O’Rielly on its agenda and wanted to advance the renomination (see 1412040031). Senate Republicans have indicated they don't believe O’Rielly requires a full hearing for advancement, with a staffer suggesting to us that the renomination could be simply discharged or reported from committee and moved on the Senate floor this week (see 1412050032).
Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., are expected to team up to introduce wireless spectrum legislation Wednesday, at the end of the 113th Congress. An industry official and Democratic Senate staffer confirmed the partnership and pending introduction. The legislation is expected to make it easier for carriers to build out networks on federal land. The Senate staffer referred to it as the “shot clock” bill. Rubio has introduced two spectrum bills this year, one piece without co-sponsors on spectrum reallocation and one with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., on spectrum sharing. Rubio outlined a desire to introduce legislation dealing with wireless siting, and in September told us he doubted the prospects for any of his wireless legislation in this Congress (see 1409220044). He already was talking with incoming leadership of the Commerce Committee for the next Congress and also was seeking Democrats to back his bills, he said then. Given the busy lame-duck session, with much attention now focused on funding the government and a Senate report on U.S. CIA torture practices, it’s hard to see such legislation moving in this Congress, the Senate staffer said. The current session of Congress is expected to end as soon as Thursday. Spokespeople for McCaskill and Rubio didn’t comment. Both senators are members of the Communications Subcommittee.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler feels powerless “outrage” that schools and libraries may use the Children’s Internet Protection Act to block content favorable to gay and lesbian advocates, he told several House Democratic lawmakers in a letter the agency released last week. The FCC “is bound by Congress's strict determination that, for purposes of CIPA compliance, decisions about what material is ‘inappropriate for minors’ be made at the local level,” Wheeler said. “Unless and until Congress makes changes to this law, the Commission cannot review the decisions made at the local level.” Concerned lawmakers included Reps. Mike Honda, D-Calif.; David Cicilline, D-R.I.; Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.; and Jared Polis, D-Colo.
The Senate is likely to consider two cybersecurity bills this week -- the National Cybersecurity Protection Act (S-2519) and the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (S-2521) -- as the lame-duck session draws to a close, an industry lobbyist told us. The timing of final votes on the two bills was fluid amid wrangling by the bills’ Senate supporters, though it was possible a vote on S-2519 could occur as early as Monday night after our deadline, the lobbyist said. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del., has been circulating the revised version of S-2519, originally called the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center Act, in recent days in the form of a manager’s amendment, the industry lobbyist said. The revised S-2519 would combine many elements of the original S-2519 and some language from the House-passed National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act (HR-3696), the manager's amendment said. S-2519 would codify the Department of Homeland Security’s current cybersecurity role, particularly via DHS's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. Senate Homeland Security originally cleared the bill in June (see 1406270036). Senate Homeland Security didn’t comment. The revised S-2519 doesn’t include provisions in HR-3696 that would have amended the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act of 2002 to allow companies to seek liability protections for sharing cybersecurity information with DHS. S-2519 does include language from HR-3696 urging security clearances be provided to critical infrastructure owners and operators, as well as requiring the DHS secretary to submit a report six months after the bill’s enactment on facilitating information sharing. The American Civil Liberties Union endorsed HR-3696 but has criticized the stalled Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S-2588) and its House-passed counterpart, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (HR-624).
The FCC must reclassify broadband as a Communications Act Title II service, argued Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Angus King, I-Maine, in a joint CNN op-ed Monday. “Some worry that this approach could be overly burdensome on Internet service providers, but the fact is, the FCC can easily apply only the necessary parts of Title II regulation through a process known as forbearance,” they said. “This flexible approach would allow the FCC to adopt bright-line rules that provide certainty to the market, and would keep the Internet as a powerful, open platform that gives everyone -- not just the highest-bidder -- the opportunity to freely exchange goods and ideas.” Any alternative “will not allow the FCC to adopt the rules we need today to protect customers and businesses, and will result in high social and economic costs,” they said, calling for a ban on blocking, discrimination and Internet “tolls.” Capitol Hill Republicans and many industry stakeholders have warned of what they see as burdens of reclassification.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler reassured two House Democrats about his net neutrality goals in letters last month, released by the agency last week. “Suffice it to say, there are three bright lines for any open Internet rules: no blocking, no throttling, and no fast lanes,” Wheeler said in a letter to House Commerce Committee ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., noting the two had “just met” on net neutrality issues. Wheeler has “consistently stated my opposition to ‘fast lanes’ that degrade the quality of the consumer's experience or create an artificial structure that interferes with the virtuous cycle of the Internet ecosystem,” he told House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., in another letter. “With concerns like these in mind, our Notice expressly asks whether and how the Commission can prohibit or presume illegal paid prioritization practices, consistent with our authority.” Eshoo and Waxman have backed some use of Communications Act Title II reclassification.
House Commerce Committee leaders reiterated their commitment to draft Communications Act overhaul legislation next year, issuing a news release Thursday flagging the one-year mark since announcing the initiative. “Over the past year, the committee has sought and received thoughtful public and stakeholder feedback on a variety of issues to inform our work moving forward,” said Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., in a joint statement. “As that work continues, we will begin drafting legislation next year to update the law to better meet the dynamic needs of the 21st century.” The release described the committee’s white paper process to solicit feedback as well as a hearing involving former FCC chairmen.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., introduced legislation to prevent the federal government from mandating that tech companies build in what Wyden called, in a news release, “backdoors” for gathering private information. He attached a copy of the bill text. “This bill sends a message to leaders of those agencies to stop recklessly pushing for new ways to vacuum up Americans’ private information, and instead put that effort into rebuilding public trust,” Wyden said of the Secure Data Act, in a statement. Lofgren introduced a bill (HR-5800) that has a title outlining a similar intent.
House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, scored a veteran Democratic co-sponsor backing his bill to prevent the FCC’s Communications Act Title II reclassification of broadband. Latta introduced HR-4752 in May, referred to the Communications Subcommittee. In June, Latta picked up one Republican co-sponsor, Rep. Randy Weber of Texas, and then last week picked up Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. The bill would prevent the Title II reclassification that the White House has backed in the FCC’s creation of net neutrality rules. A Rangel spokeswoman didn’t comment on the co-sponsorship. A Latta spokeswoman previously told us he plans to reintroduce this legislation next year.