A plan for cutting regulations and federal institutions such as the FCC could target broadband access programs and media regulations, but it's likely that a wave of litigation will stymie it, administrative law professors and attorneys told us. Future Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) heads Vivek Ramasawamy and Space X CEO Elon Musk laid out their plans in a Wall Street Journal opinion column. “It's not to say that maybe some of these changes shouldn't be happening, but, you know, they're taking a wrecking ball to fix something that requires a little bit more finesse than that,” said University of Idaho law professor Linda Jellum. Asked about possible DOGE cuts at the FCC, incoming FCC Chairman Brendan Carr last week told reporters, “There's no question, there's tons of room for driving more efficiency at the FCC." He didn't elaborate.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is warning NTIA that Congress will “review the BEAD program early next year,” when Republicans will control both chambers, and plan to pay “specific attention to” program requirements that have drawn GOP ire. Congressional Republicans are likely to at least pursue a revamp of BEAD to rein in what they view as NTIA’s flawed implementation of the $42.5 billion initiative, while a clawback of program funds is less likely (see 2410210043). Drew Garner, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society director-policy engagement, pushed back Friday against criticisms Cruz separately leveled at NTIA's notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for its $1.25 billion digital equity competitive grant program (see 2411210041).
Solar exporters and importers, led by the American Clean Power Association, said a suit challenging the Commerce Department's duty pause on solar cells and modules from four Southeast Asian countries is "moot" due to a failure to identify an injury that would be redressable through the retroactive imposition of AD/CVD (Auxin Solar v. United States, CIT # 23-00274).
The incoming Trump administration likely will end the Biden administration’s temporary pause on pending decisions for liquefied natural gas exports, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said late Nov. 13.
The Rhode Island Superior Court dismissed Cox Communications' complaint about the state's implementation of NTIA's broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program (see 2409240026). Congress "stripped state courts of jurisdiction" on BEAD through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the court determined. The "plain language of the statute is unmistakably mandatory," wrote Associate Justice Brian Stern in last week's decision, noting the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has exclusive jurisdiction. Cox "attempts to thread the needle between the approvals of the initial proposal and the final proposal by the Assistant Secretary, hoping to find a brief window where this court possesses subject-matter jurisdiction," Stern wrote, "however, no such window exists." In a footnote, the court also said the allegations in Cox's complaint "give this court pause and, assuming the allegations in the complaint are true ... these concerns would mean that funds intended to provide broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved areas are instead going to be used in areas that already have sufficient broadband infrastructure, and no challenge to that plan was possible."
Asset manager Gabelli, which holds a stake in Paramount Global, is asking the FCC to defer action on Skydance Media's proposed purchase of Paramount. In a docket 24-275 filing posted Tuesday, Gabelli said a deferral would provide it with sufficient time for an inquiry into the merger terms and "potential fiduciary and/or federal securities violations." Gabelli said that inquiry would let it know whether to initiate litigation for breach of fiduciary duty against Paramount's board, Skydance or National Amusements, which has a controlling stake in Paramount. The $8 billion transaction was announced in July (see 2407080025).
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The NARUC Telecom Committee on Monday cleared draft resolutions on phone number conservation, the Universal Service Fund and utility coordination on broadband deployment. A USF panel that day described how reform could happen with Republicans controlling the FCC and Congress next year. Also, the affordable connectivity program (ACP) could return in 2025 despite Washington’s partisan climate, said Sanford Williams, deputy chief of staff for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, during a collocated National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) meeting. State utility regulators are holding their annual meeting here this week.
Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., introduced a resolution last week urging the Biden administration to pause further transfers or sales of U.S.-made fighter jets to Turkey. Titus criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for making statements threatening Israel and supporting the terrorist group Hamas in its war on Israel. The measure was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The State Department formally notified Congress in January that it approved Turkey’s request to buy 40 new F-16s and modernize 79 existing ones for a total of $23 billion (see 2401290067).
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, urged the Commerce Department Nov. 5 to investigate whether China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) violated U.S. export controls.
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