The League of United Latin American Citizens has shifted away from an executive’s past backing of former acting NTIA Administrator Anna Gomez to be President Joe Biden’s nominee to fill the FCC seat former Chairman Ajit Pai vacated in 2021 and instead endorsed retired T-Mobile Vice President-Legal Affairs Chris Luna for the role. Many communications sector stakeholders believe Gomez is the prohibitive favorite to be the next nominee (see 2305020001).
Jimm Phillips
Jimm Phillips, Associate Editor, covers telecommunications policymaking in Congress for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications News in 2012 after stints at the Washington Post and the American Independent News Network. Phillips is a Maryland native who graduated from American University. You can follow him on Twitter: @JLPhillipsDC
Top Republican leaders on the House and Senate Commerce committees want the FCC's Office of Inspector General to review the commission's management of broadband money it received during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying in a Monday letter to acting IG Sharon Diskin "it's important to understand" the affordable connectivity program's "record to date" as they decide whether to back extending its life. They are seeking answers by June 1. The request came before two congressional hearings later this week on federal broadband spending and may provide further insight into whether there’s a consensus for making legislative changes to existing programs.
Top Republican leaders on the House and Senate Commerce committees want the FCC's Office of Inspector General to review the commission's management of broadband money it received for the affordable connectivity program during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying in a letter to acting IG Sharon Diskin we obtained ahead of its Monday release that "it's important to understand" ACP's "record to date" as they decide whether to back extending its life. They seek answers by June 1. The request came ahead of a Wednesday House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee hearing that will be the panel's first specific foray into what’s expected to be a more critical look at recent broadband spending now that Republicans have the chamber majority.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel again prodded Congress Wednesday to allocate an additional $3.08 billion to fully fund the FCC's Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, warning Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that the commission plans to begin prorating reimbursements to participants July 15 unless Congress agrees to bridge the gap by that date. House Commerce Committee aides cited the July 15 deadline Thursday as one of the reasons panel leaders are pressing for a deal as soon as possible on a spectrum legislative package that would allocate some future auction proceeds toward rip and replace.
Former FCC nominee Gigi Sohn told reporters Wednesday she’s ready for her next act in the communications policy space, after her withdrawal from contention for the vacant commission slot almost two months ago (see 2303070082). Sohn confirmed during and after an appearance at a Broadband Communities event in Houston that she will sign on in June as the American Association for Public Broadband’s first executive director. The House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee, meanwhile, plans a May 10 hearing on the government’s administration of $65 billion in broadband funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other federal programs.
The White House appears very close to announcing its nominee for the vacant third Democratic FCC seat, with former acting NTIA Administrator Anna Gomez, ex-Wiley, the prohibitive favorite to get the nod, congressional officials and communications policy lobbyists said in interviews. Gomez, if nominated, would be President Joe Biden's second pick for the seat former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai vacated in early 2021. Previous candidate Gigi Sohn asked Biden in March to withdraw her name after her often-contentious Senate confirmation process repeatedly stalled (see 2303070082). Biden formally withdrew Sohn’s nomination March 30 (see 2303300048).
Congressional telecom policy leaders said in interviews last week there still isn’t consensus for passing legislation from Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., to temporarily restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30 (S-650), despite recent indications from House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., that she was reconsidering her earlier opposition to the proposal (see 2304210069). The FCC’s remit lapsed March 9 after Rounds objected to approving a House-passed bill to reauthorize it through May 19 (HR-1108) by unanimous consent and chamber leaders refused his counterbid to swiftly advance S-650 (see 2303090074).
Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., confirmed Thursday he plans a hearing as soon as the second week of May with a primary focus on a potential legislative USF revamp. “My intention is for the focus to be in and around USF” given ongoing work with Communications ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., to “create a working group” to draft a legislative revamp, Lujan told us. “Thus far it feels like there’s bipartisan interest from all sides,” so “I’m hopeful this hearing will bring” the issue onto “the front burner and maybe can act as a catalyst for us all to work together and get things done.” Lujan and former Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., refiled the Funding Affordable Internet with Reliable (Fair) Contributions Act last month to direct an FCC study of expanding the USF funding pool to include edge providers like Google-owned YouTube and Netflix (see 2303160080). Thune and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., refiled the Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act in late March in a bid to revamp USF's funding mechanism (see 2303280071).
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo countered Republicans’ renewed assertions that NTIA’s notice of funding opportunity for the $42.5 billion broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program includes rate regulation requirements and other provisions Congress didn’t mandate via the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, during a Wednesday Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee hearing. Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota, meanwhile, is eyeing potential next steps in Commerce Committee Republicans’ push for NTIA to revise or otherwise strip out language from the NOFO they find objectionable (see 2304200064).
The FAA is “not planning to seek an extension” of wireless carriers’ previous commitment to delay some use of their C-band spectrum for 5G past the current July 1 deadline, acting Administrator Billy Nolen said during a Wednesday House Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee hearing. The House, meanwhile, easily passed two spectrum bills -- the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences Codification Act (HR-1343) and Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications Parity Act (HR-1353).