Cantwell Now Plans to Support Renewing FCC Auction Authority Through May 19

Senate Commerce Committee leaders now plan to support a House-backed proposal to extend the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through May 19, panel Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Wednesday. The House passed its temporary reauthorization bill (HR-1108) Monday, but Cantwell and Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, weren’t at that point certain whether they would back another renewal of just over two months. “Everybody seems to be cool” now about renewing the remit through May 19, Cantwell said: “I didn’t know” earlier in the week “if everyone had gotten comfortable with that exact date,” but that now seems to be the case. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., remains a wild card in any bid for Senate concurrence with HR-1108 because he’s eyeing filing a bill that would instead reauthorize the FCC’s mandate until the end of FY 2023, the night of Sept. 30. Congress in December agreed to extend the auction authority through March 9 after a bid to attach a bipartisan spectrum measure to the FY23 omnibus appropriations package fell through (see 2212190069).