House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, urged Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez to oppose Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s “Learning Without Limits” proposal to allow E-rate program money to pay for Wi-Fi on school buses and for hot spots (see 2306260029). Both lawmakers declared their “strong opposition” to the plan in July (see 2307310063). “We ask that you reject this unlawful plan to vastly expand the E-Rate program,” they said in a letter to Gomez released Wednesday. “Instead, the FCC should work with Congress, not ignore the text of” Communications Act Section 254’s E-rate authorizing statute “to advance its policy goals.” Expanding “E-Rate support to off-campus connectivity” would “open the door to funding broadband buildout to homes, even in cases where the community is already served by an existing broadband provider,” the GOP leaders said: “This use of taxpayer dollars to compete with private businesses is inappropriate and inefficient, and could duplicate existing federal programs.” There “is no telling how much USF fees could increase to pay for this dramatic, unlawful expansion of E-Rate,” they said. “Unlike congressionally funded programs like [the affordable connectivity program] or [broadband, equity, access and deployment program], the FCC’s USF avoids the appropriations process, hides who contributes, and adds fees to the phone bills of American families.” Gomez’s office didn’t comment.

The House was expected to vote Tuesday night on a rule for debate on the FY 2024 Agriculture Department appropriations measure (HR-4368), which would allow consideration of four broadband amendments. A proposal led by Reps. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, and Susan Davis, D-Calif., would revise the department’s ReConnect program rules to set minimum speed requirements at 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload in areas where at least 75% of households lack access to that level of service (see 2307240063). Reps. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., and Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., want to redirect $3 million from USDA’s Office of Chief Financial Officer to the Rural Utilities Service’s Distance Learning, Telemedicine and Broadband program. Two other amendments are largely symbolic. A proposal from Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., would decrease and then immediately increase funding for USDA’s Distance Learning, Telemedicine and Broadband Program by $10 million to emphasize “the importance of increased opportunities for the expansion of telehealth services into rural communities.” Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, proposes decreasing and then increasing the Community Connect Grant Program’s funding by $30 million to call attention to the need for “broadband service in economically disadvantaged communities.”

House IP Subcommittee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and three other lawmakers urged the FCC Thursday to "decline" a push to potentially refresh its long-dormant docket (14-261) on reclassifying streaming services as virtual MVPDs to fix a perceived disparity in retransmission consent rules (see 2307180058). House Communications Subcommittee Republicans similarly discouraged a revisit of the proceeding during a hearing earlier this month (see 2309130072). "Apart from it being of questionable substantive merit, that proceeding was based on highly questionable legal authority," Issa and other lawmakers said in a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. "Perhaps most troubling, that proceeding appeared to presuppose an outcome that would have required a change in policy" from the House Judiciary Committee and Copyright Office, "thereby raising serious jurisdictional concerns." Both have "repeatedly rejected calls for the creation of new statutory licenses for video distribution," the lawmakers said.

Legislation introduced by Democrats Friday targets the consumer impacts of AI on housing, credit and education decisions. Introduced by Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Yvette Clarke of New York, the Algorithmic Accountability Act would require companies to test their algorithms through impact assessments analyzing the technology’s effectiveness and bias. The bill creates a public repository at the FTC and adds 75 agency employees to enforce laws related to AI.

Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., filed the Closing Long Overdue Steamlining Encumberances to Help Expeditiously Generate Approved Permits (Close the Gap) Act Wednesday in a bid to streamline federal siting processes for broadband projects. The measure would direct the Agriculture and Interior departments to issue new regulations to streamline the process for broadband applications on federal land. It would also create new National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act review exemptions, including for projects on land that’s previously been permitted for deployments and collocation or replacement of radios on existing towers. “It shouldn’t take years for internet service providers to get approval to install or make simple repairs on federal land,” Barrasso said. “Streamlining the permitting process is a vital step in closing the digital divide in rural communities.” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr hailed the Close the Gap Act, saying in a statement it “would accelerate high-speed Internet builds across rural and remote parts of the country. For too long, a cumbersome and outdated permitting process has delayed and deterred broadband builds on Federal lands,” where “installing Internet infrastructure is vital to reaching those communities that remain on the wrong side of the digital divide.” Barrasso’s office cited support from the Competitive Carriers Association, CTIA, Dish, the Fiber Broadband Association, NCTA, NTCA, T-Mobile, The Permitting Institute, USTelecom and WTA.

Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee member Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., raised doubts during a Tuesday hearing on the FCC’s FY 2024 funding request (see 2309190001) about how much commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel prioritizes a push for fully funding the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. Rosenworcel and others repeatedly prodded lawmakers this year to allocate an additional $3.08 billion to fully satisfy reimbursement costs for carriers beyond the initial $1.9 billion Congress originally allocated the program. Rosenworcel cited the commission’s statutory obligation to begin prorating those payments absent appropriations (see 2305040085). Still, the matter “must not be your highest priority” because “it’s not in your budget request,” Manchin told Rosenworcel Tuesday. Rosenworcel cited her past communications with lawmakers about rip and replace funding. “We have made it a priority and we’re working with the carriers that have it in their networks right now to identify a way forward” amid the shortfall, she said. Senate Appropriations Financial Services Chairman Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., noted Congress allocated the program’s $1.9 billion in the FY 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 aid omnibus package as a “one-time expenditure” (see 2012210055). Lawmakers also hope to include language in a spectrum legislative package from the House Commerce Committee-approved Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565) that would give the FCC the rip and replace money up front and use some future auction revenue to cover the loan (see 2305240069), Van Hollen said.

Republicans asked the Biden administration to strengthen export controls against Huawei and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., after Huawei unveiled a new smartphone this month that may have been made through means that violated U.S. export restrictions. In a letter sent to the Bureau of Industry and Security last week, 10 House Republicans, including Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul of Texas, said they're “extremely troubled and perplexed” about BIS’ “inability to effectively write and enforce export control rules against violators, especially China.” They said BIS has continued to grant licenses to SMIC and other Chinese companies despite “continued Congressional pressure to adopt stricter policies.” They said both technology companies should be subject to “full blocking sanctions” and their executives should face criminal investigations, and the Commerce Department should revoke all of their existing license applications, add all their subsidiaries to the Entity List and take other measures to cut off a broad range of shipments to both firms. The lawmakers asked for a briefing with BIS and other agencies that oversee export controls by Sept. 28 and listed several recommendations for the administration to further limit sensitive technology exports to China, including by creating a new sanctions authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act specifically focused on China. The new sanctions authority should be used to target companies that “flout” export controls and should be leveraged to “designate SMIC and Huawei with full blocking sanctions.”

House Republican leaders’ proposed continuing resolution to extend federal appropriations through Oct. 31 would reduce ongoing funding for the FCC, FTC, NTIA and all other agencies by more than 8%, not accounting for inflation, from levels in the FY 2023 appropriations package enacted in December. Congress in that measure allocated the FCC more than $390 million, the FTC $430 million and NTIA $62 million (see 2212210077). The House CR has almost no chance of making it through the Senate due to Democratic opposition to the proposed funding cuts. It was also unclear if the CR could make it through the House due to resistance from some of the chamber’s most conservative Republicans. “I don't know” if the CR can pass the House, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters. “Every day will be a challenge. We've got a long week” and “we have to get together, figure it out, and move forward.”

The House Communications Subcommittee plans a Sept. 21 hearing on rural broadband funding issues, as expected (see 2309120059), the Commerce Committee said Thursday night. Lobbyists believe the hearing will in part focus on both how to fit an extension of the affordable connectivity program into broader universal service legislation and how to change the USF contribution factor to include non-wireline entities. “High-speed broadband is essential to participate in today’s modern economy, yet some Americans still do not have reliable Internet access, especially in rural communities,” House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Communications Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, said in a statement. “Congress has dedicated an unprecedented amount of taxpayer dollars towards closing this digital divide. As these resources are made available and new funding programs are considered, it is critical that we ensure taxpayer dollars aren't being wasted or duplicated.” The panel will begin at 9 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold an open hearing Tuesday on the national security implications of AI, as expected (see 2309070059). Witnesses are Meta Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun, Marine Corps University professor Benjamin Jensen and George Washington University assistant professor Jeffrey Ding. The hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in Hart 216.