House Appropriations Subpanels OK More for CPB, FCC, FTC, NTIA, PTO

The House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee approved by voice vote Wednesday major funding increases for the FCC and FTC for FY 2021. The bill includes $60 billion in broadband infrastructure grants and money to implement the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998) and Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act broadband mapping law (S-1822). Riders on other telecom policy issues may make an appearance once the full committee marks up the measure, lawmakers and lobbyists told us.

The Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee advanced by voice its FY21 funding measure Wednesday with increased funding for NTIA and the Patent and Trade Office. The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee voted 9-6 Tuesday to advance its funding bill with an increase for CPB.

House Appropriations Financial Services proposes giving the FCC $376 million, including $11.1 million for its independent Office of Inspector General. That's an almost 11% increase over what the commission received in FY20 and is more than 9% more than the $343 million President Donald Trump’s administration proposed in its February FY21 budget request (see 2002100056). The subcommittee allocated $341 million for the FTC. That’s a 3% increase over what the FTC received for FY20 and 3% more than the Trump administration proposed.

Financial Services wants the proposed $60 billion in broadband grants to go to expand service in “unserved areas, underserved areas, and unserved anchor institutions.” The funding would last until the end of FY 2025. Unserved areas would be designated as those without access to service with 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload. Underserved areas would be designated as those with access to that level of service but not to 100/50 Mbps. Unserved anchor institutions are those that don’t have access to service with a download and upload speed of 1 Gbps per 1,000 users and “latency that is sufficiently low to allow simultaneous real-time, interactive applications.”

The broadband grant language would bar funding to go to underserved areas “unless funding is provided to expand” service “to all unserved areas and unserved anchor institutions.” Recipients would be required to provide 100/50 service within four years. The FCC would prioritize applicants proposing service upgrades in tribal or high-poverty areas.

Riders

The FCC’s funding language requires the commission to use “not less than” $33 million to implement S-1822. Financial Services also allocated another $40 million to the FCC to implement S-1822. It allocated $1 billion separate from the FCC’s funding to implement HR-4998, which provides funding to help U.S. communications providers remove Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security (see 2003040056). The FCC earlier sought $2 billion to implement HR-4998 and $65 million for S-1822 work (see 2003230066). The funding language bars the FCC from using its money to implement either its proposed $9 billion 5G Fund or “any similar” USF support mechanism as proposed in an April NPRM (see 2004230046) until the FCC “completes the creation of the map that depicts the availability of mobile broadband” service required in S-1822.

The measure would bar the FCC and FTC from using their funding “to consider taking action, or to take any action, consistent with” Trump’s May executive order directing NTIA to petition the FCC for regulations defining the scope of Communications Decency Act Section 230 (see 2005280060). The language bans the commissions using appropriations “to seek comment on or otherwise take action on any petition for rulemaking pursuant to” the EO or to “interpret” Section 230 in the manner Trump describes. Members of the Senate Commerce Committee and other lawmakers have divided on the issue (see 2006240069).

House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., and Financial Services Chairman Mike Quigley, D-Ill., highlighted the broadband grants and HR-4998 funding during the subcommittee markup. House Appropriations ranking member Kay Granger, R-Texas, criticized the Democrats generally for the “staggering” amount of proposed infrastructure spending included in the measure, saying it’s “not supposed to be a long-term economic stimulus bill.” Financial Services ranking member Tom Graves, R-Ga., said the legislation remains “just a starting point” for his party’s members and there’s “bipartisan” agreement on the need to ensure strong cybersecurity and secure networks.

Quigley didn’t rule out the possibility during a Wednesday interview that he or others on House Appropriations may choose to attach additional FCC riders to Financial Services’ measure when it comes up for a committee markup, including one aimed at allocating proceeds from the coming auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band. Concerns about the C-band auction came up during Financial Services’ March hearing on the FCC’s budget request (see 2003110071). Lobbyists are watching for any activity on the FCC’s approval of Ligado’s L-band plan.

NTIA, CPB

House Appropriations Commerce’s bill proposes allocating $45.5 million for NTIA through the end of FY 2022. That's a more than 12% increase from the amount the agency received in FY20 but almost 37% less than Trump proposed. The measure would give PTO just under $3.7 billion, up 7% over what the office received in FY20 and level with what Trump proposed. The subcommittee allocates $1.04 billion for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. That’s nearly level with what the agency got in FY20 but 28% more than the Trump administration proposed. The measure provides almost $180.3 million for DOJ’s Antitrust Division. That’s 8% more than Antitrust got in FY20 but 4% less than the Trump administration requested.

LHHS’ measure would up CPB’s annual funding to $515 million beginning in FY 2023. That’s a more than 10% increase from the FY 2020 appropriations measure, which increased CPB’s annual money to $465 million after 10 years of level funding at $445 million. The spending bill also recommends maintaining annual funding for CPB's annual interconnection and infrastructure account at $20 million.

CPB’s funding barely factored into House Appropriations LHHS’ markup session. Lowey mentioned the proposed hike in the context of past funding battles, in which she needed to enlist the help of Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie in convincing fellow committee members. They “were actually very effective,” she said. LHHS Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and others assured public TV supporters in February they would again prevent Trump’s proposed drawdown of CPB funding (see 2002260025).

America’s Public Television Stations “are most grateful” for House Appropriations’ proposed funding increase, said CEO Patrick Butler. He earlier said he expects difficulty in again increasing CPB funding (see 2002240044). The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act included $75 million in emergency CPB funding (see 2003260063).