A Senate Commerce Committee aide confirmed that the committee wasn't planning to consider Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly’s renomination at its postponed Tuesday nominations hearing. Commerce never revealed which nominees it planned to consider and called off the Tuesday hearing in a notice issued Friday (see 1411140053). The White House nominated O’Rielly for a full five-year term in October (see 1411130051), and spokespeople for Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., have declined to say whether O’Rielly was on the agenda for this initially scheduled hearing and whether the chairman plans to advance O’Rielly in the lame-duck session. Commerce Committee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., “believes that Mike O'Rielly's re-nomination should be approved before the end of the year because the Committee has already vetted him and he is more than capable to carry our his duties at the FCC,” the aide told us this weekend.

The House approved the Senate version of the E-Label Act (S-2583) Thursday by unanimous voice vote. It had already approved its own companion version of the legislation. The bill would let device manufacturers include a required FCC label digitally rather than on the physical device. The legislation now advances for White House signature to become law. “I am confident the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology will do a great job updating our labeling rules," said bill author Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., in a statement after House approval. TIA praised the passage. “The current FCC requirement for manufacturers to either etch or print mandatory regulatory markings on the exterior of devices unnecessarily increases costs, limits design options and ineffectively conveys important information to consumers, especially as many devices become smaller,” TIA CEO Scott Belcher said in a statement. “By updating device labeling requirements, the E-LABEL Act will enhance the ability of our manufacturers to compete while also increasing access to consumer information.” FCC commissioners Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel have also backed the measure.

The Senate Commerce Committee postponed this week’s nominations hearing. The committee declined to explain why or say when it would be rescheduled, though a committee aide told us Commerce’s hearing schedule is always subject to change. The hearing had initially been slated for Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. and may have included FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, whom the White House nominated for a full term last month, a nomination committee Republicans hope to advance before year’s end (see 1411130051).

House Judiciary Committee member Doug Collins, R-Ga., will be the next Congressional Creative Rights Caucus co-chairman, he said in a statement Thursday. Collins will replace outgoing caucus co-chairman and House IP Judiciary Subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble, R-N.C., as the caucus’s top Republican. House Judiciary Committee member Judy Chu, D-Calif., will continue as the top Democrat on the caucus. “I’ve admired Congresswoman Chu’s expertise and passion about creative rights issues since I got to Congress two years ago,” said Collins: “If we can start with raising that kind of awareness, I know our legislative goals will fall into place.” Collins is the sponsor of the Songwriter Equity Act (HR-4079) (see 1406190093) and a co-sponsor of the Respecting Senior Performers as Essential Cultural Treasures Act (HR-4772) (see 1410090092). Chu is a co-sponsor of both bills. The Copyright Alliance and SoundExchange are hosting an event at 5 p.m. Monday in Rayburn 2237 to announce Collins’ new position, said a spokeswoman.

​Buzz about a forthcoming Senate vote on the USA Freedom Act (S-2685) grew late last week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., filed for cloture in the middle of last week, setting up a potential vote this week. CEA wrote to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., asking him in a Thursday letter to vote yes on such a bill. CEA President Gary Shapiro pointed to global distrust due to revelations about U.S. government surveillance in the past year. “This distrust hurts U.S. companies competing globally for business, and could result in the loss of thousands of jobs,” Shapiro said. “Several companies, including members of CEA, have already lost contracts with foreign governments worth millions of dollars.” Another branch of CEA known as the Innovation Movement asked people to write to their representatives urging them to back the USA Freedom Act. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., wrote the bill and issued another statement Friday requesting the Senate pass the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., filed for cloture on the USA Freedom Act (S-2685) Wednesday, beginning a process that could lead to a floor vote in several days. That legislation is the latest version of surveillance overhaul that would prohibit bulk government collection of phone records, among other tweaks to surveillance law. “The American people are wondering whether Congress can get anything done,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., author of the bill. “The answer is yes. Congress can and should take up and pass the bipartisan USA FREEDOM Act, without delay.” Privacy advocates such as the Center for Democracy & Technology and the Computer & Communications Industry Association urged passage of the bill. "There is no excuse not to pass this fundamental piece of legislation during the lame duck," said Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., author of the original version of the legislation with Leahy last year. "Once the Senate acts, I encourage my colleagues in the House and the President to be prepared to promptly enact it into law."

Senate Republicans on Thursday re-elected Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., as chairman of the Republican Conference. Thune has been ranking member of the Commerce Committee, which he's expected to chair in the next Congress. The Republican Conference chair is the third-highest position in GOP leadership, Thune's office said in a news release.

The Internet Tax Freedom Act Coalition urged congressional leaders in a letter Thursday to make ITFA permanent. The coalition includes the American Cable Association, Competitive Carriers Association, CTIA and USTelecom. They said it’s imperative for Congress to pass ITFA, which prohibits Internet access taxes, before it expires Dec. 11. The letter was sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

​Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., is watching the net neutrality issue and declined to immediately endorse the full Communications Act Title II reclassification proposal that President Barack Obama issued Monday. “I will be tracking it,” Nelson told us at the Capitol Thursday, “but right now I want to think outside the box about Title X instead of Title II.” Nelson is expected to lead Senate Commerce Committee Democrats in the next Congress as ranking member. Republican counterparts have decried the idea of using Title II (see 1411120028), as have industry stakeholders. Several lawmakers have pressed to rewrite telecom law in the next year, pointing to limitations of such statutory designations as Communications Act Title II.

The Senate Judiciary Committee rescheduled its hearing on sports blackout legislation. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is the author of the legislation and will preside. He originally was going to lead this hearing in September, but it was postponed. The hearing will be Wednesday at 11 a.m. in 226 Dirksen. Its title is “The FANS Act: Are Sports Blackouts and Antitrust Exemptions Harming Fans, Consumers, and the Games Themselves?” The FCC ended its sports blackout rule in September, but Blumenthal has said this legislation is necessary to truly tackle the broader sports blackout problem.