"The current uncertainty over reauthorization” of the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act “is hampering business development and further growth of the technology sector as a whole,” said an Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) spokesman in a news release Tuesday. The House Judiciary Committee will mark up HR-3086 at 10 a.m. in 2141 Rayburn Wednesday (http://1.usa.gov/1kHa87B) (CD June 17 p9). The bill has 214 House co-sponsors (http://1.usa.gov/1l0xbiL). ITIF released a report (http://bit.ly/U6OG6E) last year in support of HR-3086. “The National Governors Association (NGA) is disappointed that the House Judiciary Committee is moving to make the Internet access tax moratorium permanent,” it said in a news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1jwNz64). “Federal prohibitions on state taxing authority are contrary to federalism and the sovereign authority of states to structure and manage their own fiscal systems,” said NGA. “The markup is the first step of many to ensure consumers, students, and small businesses are not burdened with new taxes on Internet access that could be as high as double the national sales tax rate,” said Annabelle Canning, Internet Tax Freedom Act Coalition executive director. “We applaud” the committee’s “efforts and hope the Senate will follow suit in moving a companion bill prior to the August recess to ensure Congress extends the Internet tax moratorium before it expires on November 1st."

The Office of Management and Budget supports the Senate Appropriations Committee amendment (http://1.usa.gov/1kLdJBM) to the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act FY 2015, said OMB in a letter Tuesday (http://1.usa.gov/1pdBFDS). The amendment was expected to be debated on the Senate floor late Tuesday, said a Senate aide. The Senate amendment to HR-4660 allocates $48.5 million to NTIA, compared with $36.7 million in the original House bill (CD June 2 p8), it said.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., released a new draft Tuesday of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (http://1.usa.gov/1vAZvew). The committee expects to mark up the bill next week, her office said. The bill, which Feinstein has been writing since last year in collaboration with committee Vice Chairman Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., included many parts of the House-passed Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), but has what proponents say are improved privacy protections. The bill has support from many in the communications industry, while privacy advocates who opposed CISPA (HR-624) have said they have significant concerns with the Senate Intelligence bill (CD May 15 p11). House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said last week he was “extremely optimistic” the Senate would pass its CISPA equivalent this year (CD June 13 p10).

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler pledged to modernize the E-rate program, in a letter responding to a bipartisan group of House lawmakers, many belonging to the New Democrat Coalition. “I agree with each of the recommendations in your letter and hope to soon be able to adopt an Order beginning the process of E-rate modernization consistent with the approach you have outlined,” Wheeler said in a response received Tuesday, expressing concern over timing and wanting an order adopted in summer to ensure funding for the coming year. He is “especially concerned” about lack of robust Wi-Fi in schools and libraries and wants funding allocated for that, he said. “According to internal staff estimates, allocating an additional $1 billion to Wi-Fi next year without updated program rules will allow us to reach fewer than 4 million students, mostly in urban areas,” Wheeler said. “With modernized rules for internal connections, however, E-Rate could help over 10 million students connect to Wi-Fi in their classrooms, including many in rural areas.” The FCC has $1 billion committed for 2014, with more than $700 million slated for broadband-related funding, Wheeler said.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice emphasized in a letter to House Communications Subcommittee leaders the importance of media diversity. The letter was dated June 10 and posted this week by the FCC, which had also received a copy. “Ensuring a diverse media landscape is especially important for Asian Americans to access information that is culturally and linguistically relevant -- including lifesaving emergency information -- because approximately one-third of Asian Americans are limited-English proficient,” the group said (http://bit.ly/UGhgMP). It backs the FCC’s “efforts to enforce its media ownership rules,” it added.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., has included net neutrality among his Senate campaign priorities, featured prominently on his campaign homepage. He is running for re-election this November, a seat the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report deems safely Democratic. Net neutrality has featured in other Senate campaigns, such as that of Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. (CD June 4 p5 ). Booker’s campaign website highlights net neutrality in two separate pages, one allowing people to “tell the FCC: No Internet ‘fast lanes.'” The website argued the FCC has changed its policies: “In the past, the FCC has agreed that Internet ‘fast lanes’ like those currently under consideration would threaten net neutrality,” the Booker campaign website said in a sample letter to the agency (http://bit.ly/1jujvIc). “This proposed rule change would likely result in higher consumer costs and decreased private sector innovation.” The FCC has defended its net neutrality rulemaking as merely asking questions and disputed assertions it’s pushing to allow for any such Internet fast lanes. Another Booker campaign webpage asked for voter feedback on the issue. “Do you agree with the principles of Net Neutrality?” the Booker campaign asked, allowing people to select yes or no (http://bit.ly/T1ns0l). “Are you a small business owner who relies on Net Neutrality?”

The House Judiciary Committee will mark up the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, HR-3086, at 10 a.m. Wednesday in 2141 Rayburn, said a committee news release (http://1.usa.gov/1kHa87B) Monday. House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., is the bill’s lead co-sponsor (CD Sept 13 p18). The legislation has another 213 House co-sponsors. The bill would “make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce,” according to a Congressional Research Service summary (http://1.usa.gov/1q5cbrJ). “NetChoice absolutely supports a permanent ITFA, and not just to prevent new taxes on every smartphone and household internet access bill,” said Executive Director Steve DelBianco by email. The bill “also prohibits discriminatory taxes on our online activities, like a tax on free email or video streaming,” he said. HR-3086 “would at the very least prevent targeted taxes on Internet access, and disproportionate sales or other taxes on e-commerce,” said Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) President Grover Norquist and ATR Digital Liberty project Executive Director Katie McAuliffe in a letter (http://bit.ly/1q5nlN9) Monday urging the bill’s passage. The letter was sent to Goodlatte, House Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and House Commerce Committee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif.

CEA hailed Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for introducing the Wireless Innovation Act (http://1.usa.gov/1p1SEa4) as a “forward-looking approach” that will help ensure “our commercial spectrum supply can meet consumer demand.” S-2473 would reallocate 200 MHz of government spectrum for commercial use (CD June 12 p15). “Federal regulation and policies governing the allocation of spectrum must reflect our current, widespread use of this invaluable resource,” said CEA President Gary Shapiro in a news release Thursday (http://bit.ly/1vazLFQ). “By reallocating government spectrum for commercial use, establishing an auction pipeline with deadlines and incentivizing federal agencies to reallocate spectrum, this legislation works to advance a 21st-century spectrum policy that helps us find new ways to meet our ever-growing demand for wireless access.” CTIA and PCIA are among other groups that also have hailed the bill’s introduction.

The House Judiciary Antirust Subcommittee plans a net neutrality hearing Friday at 9 a.m. in 2141 Rayburn, as expected (CD June 11 p16), said the committee in a news release. It said Friday that witnesses will include Robert McDowell, a former Republican FCC commissioner and now visiting fellow with the Hudson Institute; Bruce Owen, a senior fellow with the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research; FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright; and Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., filed cloture Thursday on the motion to proceed to consider the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2015 (HR-4660). That House version of the legislation became embroiled in various debates over Internet governance and reduced funding to NTIA, given concerns from House Republicans (CD June 2 p8). The item is expected to be considered this week, with the Senate back in session Monday.