Cantwell Eyeing 5-Year-Plus FCC Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Bill, Plans March 21 Hearing

The Senate Commerce Committee plans a March 21 spectrum policy hearing that will focus at least in part on a potential clean FCC auction mandate renewal in the face of stalled talks on a more comprehensive package, panel Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Thursday. Senate Commerce hadn’t yet formally noticed the hearing Thursday afternoon. Cantwell has been eyeing a five-to-seven-year FCC reauthorization and has received a score on the proposal from the Congressional Budget Office, communications policy lobbyists told us.

A clean FCC reauthorization would be in line with Cantwell’s pursuit of a slimmed-down measure to succeed the Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565), which has encountered Senate resistance and hasn’t advanced to the floor since the House Commerce Committee passed it in May. The hearing is likely to also include discussion about the 2024 Spectrum Pipeline Act (S-3909), an alternative proposal led by Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, lobbyists told us.