Jimm Phillips

Scott Harris of Harris Wiltshire appears to be the front-runner for NTIA administrator, communications sector officials and lobbyists told us. The Biden administration may announce its NTIA pick as soon as next week. The Senate Commerce Committee voted down 14-14 Wednesday a bid by ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., to attach his Improving Spectrum Coordination Act (S-1472) to the Endless Frontier Act (S-1260) amid Democrats' belief a permanent administrator needs to be in place before lawmakers consider major changes to spectrum policymaking. Senate Commerce advanced an amended version of S-1260 24-4 (see 2105120063).

The Administrative Conference of the U.S. Assembly Rulemaking Committee agreed Tuesday to delay until May 24 a vote on a draft proposal recommending the FCC and other federal agencies limit some types of comment, amid outcry from Free Press and others, an FP spokesperson told us. FP, Incompas, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge are among more than 80 groups that raised concerns Tuesday about the latest plan. The committee plans to vote after members circulate further revisions, the FP spokesperson said. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ (D) office last week found nearly 18 million of the more than 22 million comments submitted to the FCC on repealing net neutrality rules in 2017 were fake (see our report here).

The Treasury Department released interim final rules Monday that would make broadband projects in areas that “lack access to a wireline connection capable of reliably delivering at least minimum speeds of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload” the only ones eligible for money from the $350 billion in state and local funding from the American Rescue Plan Act package. Congress allocated $10 billion of the state and local money specifically for broadband and other infrastructure projects (see 2103100065). Recipient governments have “broad flexibility” to decide how to allocate their share, Treasury said.

House Communications Subcommittee members delivered divergent assessments on infrastructure proposals from President Joe Biden’s administration and congressional Democrats aimed at improving broadband affordability and equity, during a Thursday hearing. Negotiations on the scope of a final infrastructure legislative package partly turn on whether a broadband title will address affordability and equity. Doing so is crucial to narrowing the digital divide, supporters told us.

Public Knowledge CEO Chris Lewis and Next Century Cities Executive Director Francella Ochillo urge broadband affordability and equity legislation along the lines of what President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers propose (see 2103310064), in written testimony before a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee hearing. National Urban league Senior Vice President-Advocacy and Policy Joi Chaney and Phoenix Center Chief Economist George Ford also will testify (see 2105040062). Their written testimony wasn’t available Wednesday. “The high cost of broadband is one of the primary reasons why the United States has such a staggering digital divide,” Lewis says. “Congress must take steps to increase competition in the marketplace, which will reduce prices. However, even with lower prices, some of our nation’s most vulnerable will still be unable to afford this critical service. For this reason, Congress must create a long-term benefit” to succeed the $3.2 billion FCC emergency broadband benefit (see 2012220061). A “long-term emergency broadband benefit must continue the EBB’s legacy of broad consumer eligibility, should provide enough funding to enable consumers to access service that meets their needs, and should guarantee that all eligible consumers complete enrollment by promoting automatic verification of identity and eligibility,” Lewis says. “Congress should also require any entity receiving federal funding to offer a low-cost option for anyone.” Ochillo urges lawmakers to consider nontraditional network models to ensure a comprehensive affordability strategy, including municipal networks. Muni broadband has "some of the fastest speeds and highest quality connectivity in the nation while making prices readily transparent, selling service in symmetrical tiers, and maintaining affordability programs for low-income residents,” she says. “Publicly owned WiFi and mesh networks also fill important gaps.” The Computer & Communications industry Association praised House Communications for tackling broadband affordability and equity.

Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York and other House Judiciary Committee members drilled down Wednesday on how to structure potential legislation to revamp Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 512 (see 2009300068). They cited the need to bring back balance to how DMCA prioritizes interests of content creators, consumers and major tech platforms. Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee ranking member Thom Tillis, R-N.C., hopes to introduce DMCA revamp legislation soon that places a heavy emphasis on addressing Section 512 (see 2103080053).

Vice President Kamala Harris and acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel compared the push by President Joe Biden’s administration for universal broadband connectivity to the 1936 Rural Electrification Act. Biden tasked Harris Wednesday with leading the push for the $100 billion broadband spending component of the administration’s infrastructure proposal (see 2104290076). White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday “this is something that was important to [Harris], that she wanted to take on specifically.” Rural electrification “was one of the great examples of the role of responsibility of the federal government to meet the needs of the people where they are and to invest in America in a way that we will be competitive,” Harris told reporters after a Friday event in Cincinnati. “Broadband is the next example.” Regardless "of who they vote for, with which party they registered, that's what [people] want,” Harris said. “That's what they want to see their government focus on.” Lawmakers “in the 1930’s decided that instead of waiting for the electricity divide between urban and rural areas to fix itself, they would do something about it, and they passed the Rural Electrification Act,” Rosenworcel wrote Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on April 12 and published Friday. “This history is also a reminder that we can help build infrastructure and make change with the right policies in place. We did this with rural electrification, and we can do it again with bold action to connect all to broadband.” Policymakers “need to consider new policies to get 100 percent of us connected to broadband nationwide,” as the FCC opens up the $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit (see 2104290085), Rosenworcel said.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ new role shepherding the $100 billion broadband spending component of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal (see 2104280088) shows that part of the plan is a priority for the administration and will help smooth talks on the path forward, lawmakers and observers told us Thursday. Democrats are preparing to advance an infrastructure package via a budget reconciliation process if talks on Senate Republicans’ counterproposal, which includes $65 billion for broadband (see 2104220067), don’t progress in coming weeks.

The Senate Commerce Committee advanced four tech and telecom bills (see 2104230076) and NASA administrator nominee Bill Nelson Wednesday on voice votes. The committee also advanced deputy commerce secretary nominee Don Graves on a 25-3 vote. Senate Commerce earlier pulled from consideration the Endless Frontier Act (S-1260) after lawmakers filed more than 230 amendments to the measure (see 2104270045).

Some Congressional Black Caucus leaders urged President Joe Biden to nominate DLA Piper’s Smitty Smith as FCC chairman, amid lawmakers' amplified calls for the administration to name people of color as commissioners. Lawmakers and others told us there’s uncertainty about Biden’s timeline for selecting a nominee to cement a Democratic FCC majority, seen as necessary to make changes to net neutrality rules and other potentially controversial matters, given the current 2-2 split (see 2101060055).