The House Armed Services Committee said Wednesday it formed a new Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems Subcommittee to handle spectrum policy matters under the panel’s jurisdiction. House Armed Services leaders were among those who objected last year to the FCC’s approval of the Ligado L-band plan (see 2004230001). The subpanel, to be chaired by Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., would also deal with cybersecurity, IT systems, electronic warfare and artificial intelligence, House Armed Services said. “As technology continues to advance at an incredibly rapid rate -- from artificial intelligence to biotechnology and everything in between -- it is critical” the committee “redoubles our efforts to bridge the gap between current capabilities and future requirements,” said Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash. The new subcommittee will allow lawmakers to focus “more intently on these critical issues moving forward.”

Three new Senate Democrats are joining the Commerce Committee, and two are joining the Judiciary Committee, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York announced Tuesday. The new Commerce members are John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and Raphael Warnock of Georgia. Lujan was previously on the House Communications Subcommittee before winning his Senate election in November. Hickenlooper, Lujan and Warnock back a return to FCC 2015 net neutrality rules. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California are the new Judiciary members.

Senate Communications Subcommittee lead Republican John Thune of South Dakota led refiling Tuesday of the Telecommunications Skilled Workforce Act. The revised measure aims to increase the 5G workforce by requiring the FCC to lead an interagency working group to develop recommendations to address the telecom sector’s labor needs. The version Thune filed last year gave the Labor Department such leadership (see 2002270060). The FCC would issue guidance on how states can address the telecom workforce shortage by identifying existing federal resources. The measure would direct GAO to study the number of workers needed to build and maintain 5G infrastructure. Commissioner Brendan Carr said: “To complete America’s 5G build, we need nearly to double the number of skilled tower techs and telecom crews working in this country.” CTIA, NATE and the Wireless ISP Association backed the measure.

Three Republican senators are concerned that commerce secretary nominee Gina Raimondo’s “suggesting that all aspects of the approach to U.S. economic and technological competition are up for review” would include Commerce Department restrictions on Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei. Raimondo said during her confirmation hearing that the U.S. should protect its networks against Chinese interference and didn't commit to keep Huawei on the Bureau of Industry and Security’s entity list (see 2101260063). The White House later clarified that President Joe Biden’s administration views Huawei as a threat to national security (see 2101270064). “Although we agree that some export controls, the Entity List, and Foreign Direct Product Rule could be reviewed to strengthen their application, we do not agree that such a review is necessary or desirable in the case of Huawei,” Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Marco Rubio of Florida and Ben Sasse of Nebraska wrote Raimondo Friday: “Without an effort to cut off Huawei … there are no market-based solutions to protect our allies’ companies or create the space for Americans or other trusted actors to compete.” They want her to explain whether she foresees “any scenario in which you would … either remove Huawei, or its subsidiaries, or spin-off companies from the Entity List (or expand any related general licenses), or, would permit any relaxation of the Foreign Direct Product Rule as it relates to 5G technology.” If other Commerce Department nominees “do not make clear that they will adhere to these broad concerns and objectives, they may face substantial opposition from Congress,” the senators said.

The FCC “takes seriously its responsibility to maintain federal records,” then-Chairman Ajit Pai wrote the Senate Commerce Committee's lead Democrat, Maria Cantwell of Washington, in a letter released Monday. Cantwell wrote Pai in December reminding him that during the transition to President Joe Biden’s administration, the commission “is expected to comply with the record preservation obligations,” and all staff should “take appropriate measures to collect, retain, and preserve all documents, communications, and other records.” She sought information on all political appointees placed at the FCC since Oct. 1, 2019. The agency issues “directives to Commission staff” on records preservation, maintains “a specialized records management team” and requires “records management training for all FCC employees,” Pai said. “More recent efforts include the implementation of Capstone, an email management approach developed by the National Archives and Records Administration.” The FCC doesn't have consistent rules or standard practices on how ex-FCC commissioners maintain control of social media accounts they used while in office (see 2101220051). Pai included a list of political appointees with the letter to Cantwell, but the FCC and Cantwell’s office didn’t respond to requests for a copy.

House Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said Friday he’s working with President Joe Biden’s administration to tweak a coming infrastructure spending package but is “ready to move pretty quickly.” The Biden administration appears to “like the thrust” of the Moving Forward Act infrastructure bill the House passed last year (see 2007010071) but may “want to go bigger” in some aspects or “modify parts” before its refiling, DeFazio told The Hill's webcast Friday. The act included $100 billion in broadband and next-generation 911 funding (see 2006180062). House Infrastructure ranking member Sam Graves, R-Mo., said he remains interested in an infrastructure package but is concerned by proposals to increase the gas tax and other avenues to pay for the extra spending. U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue said an infrastructure package should include a broadband element and suggested a 25 cent gas tax increase could be used to pay for the overall measure. Joint Economic Committee member Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., suggested lawmakers consider alternatives to traditional fiber deployments to increase broadband connectivity as they consider infrastructure spending. Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., emphasized the need for broadband spending, noting the federal government has “waited an inordinate amount of time for the private sector to take up the slack.”

The Senate voted 55-42 Thursday to invoke cloture on homeland security secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas (see 2101260063), setting up a Monday confirmation vote. Six Republicans voted to move forward on Mayorkas, including the Homeland Security Committee's incoming lead Republican, Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio. The chamber also set a Tuesday vote to confirm transportation secretary nominee Pete Buttigieg. The Senate isn't setting a preconfirmation cloture vote for Buttigieg because leadership reached a deal allowing him to move without formally clearing that threshold. The chamber is expected to vote overwhelmingly in his favor. The Senate Commerce Committee advanced Buttigieg Wednesday 21-3 (see 2101270062).

Democrats reintroduced legislation Thursday to ensure health data is used for only public health purposes. The updated Public Health Emergency Privacy Act, from Reps. Suzan DelBene, Washington; Anna Eshoo, California; and Jan Schakowsky, Illinois; and Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut, and Mark Warner, Virginia, prohibits the use of health data for discriminatory or unrelated purposes. As a response to COVID-19 data collection, the bill would require “meaningful data security and data integrity protections.” It would provide rulemaking authority for “an expert agency while recognizing the continuing role of states in legislation and enforcement.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., filed cloture Wednesday on homeland security secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas, while Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and other Republicans indicated they plan to filibuster the nominee over immigration issues. The Homeland Security Committee advanced Mayorkas Tuesday 7-4 despite some Republican opposition (see 2101260063).

House Judiciary Committee Republicans added nine new members, announced ranking member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Wednesday: Darrell Issa of California, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Chip Roy of Texas, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin, Cliff Bentz of Oregon and Burgess Owens of Utah.