Senate Commerce Sets June 12 Vote on Spectrum and National Security Act

The Senate Commerce Committee said Wednesday night it will mark up the Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207) June 12, as expected (see 2406050056). S-4207 would restore the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2029, lend the commission more than $10 billion in FY 2024 funding for the expired affordable connectivity program and fully fund the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. The Wednesday meeting would be Senate Commerce’s third attempt at marking up S-4207 after pulling it from consideration on two previous occasions (see 2405160066). The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell. Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr appeared to oppose S-4207 during a Thursday news conference. It’s “not clear to me that” S-4207 “gets the job done,” Carr told reporters. It “largely aligns with the Biden administration’s approach on spectrum” highlighted in its national spectrum strategy. Carr has repeatedly criticized the Biden spectrum strategy since its November release (see 2311130048). “I don’t think it is going to get us back to moving on spectrum with the same pace and cadence that we had” under former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, Carr said: “We need to start clearing more spectrum, including high-power licensed exclusive use” and license sales should go toward clearing “the national debt.”