House Panel Seeks Net Neutrality Hearing; Walden Eyes State Laws as Bill Model
The House Communications Subcommittee is aiming to hold its first net neutrality hearing during the first two weeks of February, Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., told reporters Tuesday. Some Republicans are interested in exploring legislation that would be patterned on existing state-level net neutrality actions, to forestall potential Democratic legislation that would aim to reinstate FCC 2015 rules. Entities that lobbied on net neutrality in Q4 decreased from the same period in 2017.
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Net neutrality is going to be the focus of “our first hearing” this Congress, likely during “the first week” of February and “no later than the second” week, Doyle said. “We just don't have our slot yet,” with timing likely to come after the House Commerce Committee organizational meeting Thursday. That is focused on adopting Commerce rules and confirming subcommittees' leadership and structure. It begins at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit holds its oral argument Feb. 1 on rescission of the 2015 rules (see 1901230060).
“We're not ready to put a bill together yet,” with the contours of legislation being guided by the hearing process, Doyle said. “We're looking at a potential list” of witnesses “we think are going to be a good representation” of opinion on net neutrality. The panel is expected to include a GOP-chosen witness, he said. One discussed legislative option would put into statute broad contours of 2015 rules rather than seek to undo rescission (see 1901100001).
House Commerce ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., told us he's interested in pursuing net neutrality legislation that draws on state-level statutes and executive orders, as long as they don't use Communications Act Title II as a legal basis. “We've been looking at” some of the state-level laws but Republicans' appetite for using those statutes as a model depends greatly on the language in place, Walden said. “My view is states are great models” for enacting federal legislation so he's looking to see if states "have some ideas that present a balance and a workable plan” for enforcing net neutrality rules.
“Anything short of Title II, we could find common ground on” if Democrats are willing to negotiate, Walden said. “There's a lot we can do in this space” to enact “bright-line rules.” Industry knowledge of the level of GOP interest in modeling net neutrality legislation on state-level laws is limited. Lobbyists said lawmakers' exploration of the idea appears aimed at preventing reinstatement of broadband as a Title II common-carriage service and providing an alternative to Democrats' legislative efforts.
State Options
State-level statutes and executive orders mandating all ISPs with government contracts follow net neutrality principles would appear to jibe with Republicans' policy goals on the issue, said National Regulatory Research Institute Telecom Principal Sherry Lichtenberg.
Oregon and Vermont enacted procurement statutes last year. Governors in Hawaii, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont issued executive orders with similar procurement language. Lawmakers in several states are proposing procurement bills for this year (see 1901230008).
The procurement laws in all the above six states except Vermont went unchallenged (see 1810180045), which would make them an attractive model for a federal legislative compromise, Lichtenberg said. California's statute faces DOJ and industry legal challenges, now on hold (see 1810260045). Washington's law hasn't faced court challenges (see 1810300055). A federal procurement bill likely would require all ISPs with federal contracts to follow net neutrality rules that are “equivalent with the [2015] rules” but wouldn't need a Title II basis, Lichtenberg said.
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Director-Broadband and Spectrum Policy Doug Brake said some of the state-level laws provide a “middle-ground” that "gives you something to work with” and could lead to a national compromise. The “harder part is really more about finding the right way to put limit on FCC jurisdiction and predictability and enforcement,” he said. Senate Republicans had a problem with legislative language that includes a Title II-backed general conduct standard, said American Action Forum Director-Technology and Innovation Policy Will Rinehart.
The Progressive Policy Institute is urging Congress to make a strong push for net neutrality legislation this Congress but isn't married to a Title II-based statute. “Anyone claiming that only Title II net neutrality can be 'real' or 'strong' or 'effective' is simply trying to confuse and muddy the issues -- playing politics to keep the controversy alive for fundraising and campaign purposes instead of working to find real solutions and protect consumers online for good,” wrote PPI Executive Director Lindsay Mark Lewis in a paper Tuesday. “Democrats who refuse to support non-Title II net neutrality legislation are not staying true to their own principles and are giving up the chance to score a genuine progressive win that protects the internet.”
Lobbying Spending
Sixty companies, groups and other entities reported lobbying on net neutrality during Q4, down 14 percent from the 70 during the same period in 2017.
Q4 saw the waning stages of Democrats' bid to enact a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval aimed at undoing FCC rescission of the 2015 rules. The Senate passed the resolution in May. A discharge petition aimed at forcing a House vote on the measure fell short of the 218 minimum signatures before the end of the last Congress (see 1901020046).
Google again led the tech sector in lobbying expenditures, reporting it spent $4.9 million, up almost 11 percent. Amazon spent $3.71 million during the quarter, up more than 11 percent. Facebook expended $2.83 million, down almost 8 percent. Apple laid out $1.5 million, down almost 8 percent. The Internet Association reported $840,000, up 180 percent. Sprint and Twitter hiked outlays (see 1901220040).
Comcast was the top communications sector lobbying spender, reporting $3.86 million. That's down more than 10 percent. Many others in the sector said their expenditures were down. NCTA reported $3.84 million, down more than 9 percent . CTIA reported $3.6 million, down more than 4 percent. NAB spent $3.29 million, down almost 19 percent. AT&T spent $3.27 million, down more than 9 percent.
Verizon was one of the few with an increase, reporting $2.4 million, up 6.5 percent. Charter Communications spent $2.39 million, down more than 6 percent. T-Mobile reported $1.9 million, down almost 6 percent. Cox reported $610,000, down more than 26 percent. USTelecom said it spent $580,000, down more than 1 percent.