Some Broadband Data Act Implementation Money Likely in FY 2021 Appropriations, Pallone Says
An omnibus FY 2021 appropriations measure under negotiation is likely to include funding for the FCC to implement the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act (S-1822), said House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Thursday. He told a USTelecom webinar that he believes movement on infrastructure legislation like the House-passed Moving Forward Act (HR-2) is “not going to happen” during the waning days of the lame-duck session, but “hopefully we can get it passed” and enacted after President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. Many advocates of federal broadband spending are optimistic a Biden administration will be able to reach a deal with Congress on infrastructure legislation (see 2011200056).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
Pallone spoke soon after the House Democratic Caucus unanimously reelected him to lead House Commerce during the next Congress, as expected (see 2011020048). “In the coming months, we will push an aggressive agenda to ensure the Biden Administration has all the resources it needs” for its priorities, including to “rebuild and modernize our nation’s infrastructure … and protect people's privacy,” Pallone said. “We will also examine how to rebuild and restore critical functions of key agencies under the Committee’s jurisdiction that were dismantled” during President Donald Trump’s administration. The Wireless Infrastructure Association hailed Pallone’s reelection. The House Republican Steering Committee on Wednesday named Consumer Protection Subcommittee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington as its pick to become Commerce ranker in the next Congress (see 2012020070).
S-1822 implementation “probably won’t be fully funded” via any FY 2021 appropriations measure, but there will be some money for the FCC’s work, Pallone said. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai sought $65 million to implement the law, and the House-passed FY 2021 appropriations bill for the FCC (HR-7617) included that amount (see 2007080064). The Senate Appropriations Committee is proposing to allocate $15 million, almost 77% less (see 2011100041). Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., is among the lawmakers pushing for the funding (see 2009140062). USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter, AT&T Communications CEO Jeff McElfresh and Verizon Senior Vice President-Public Policy and Government Affairs Kathy Grillo emphasized during the webinar that they want Congress to provide substantial S-1822 funding in FY 2021 appropriations.
USTelecom, WIA, Incompas, NCTA and eight other industry groups jointly urged House and Senate leaders to fund S-1822 work, among other priorities. “The FCC has developed a new national methodology to improve broadband mapping” to comply with S-1822, “ensuring every federal broadband program dollar can be deployed as quickly as possible where it is needed most,” the groups’ leaders said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and their minority party counterparts. “The FCC must have the funding now that it needs to implement its new methodology.” Connect Americans Now made a similar request to the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees, saying improvements to the FCC's broadband mapping practices are an "important first step" in closing the digital divide.
Passing infrastructure legislation like HR-2 will remain a top priority for House Commerce in the next Congress, and Biden’s team proposed broadband funding that’s on a “very similar” level to the $100 billion included in that measure (see 2006240073), Pallone said. He praised USTelecom members for participating in the FCC-led, voluntary Keep Americans Connected pledge to maintain customers’ connectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic, but “we do need to do more at the federal level to subsidize for people who can't actually afford the service.”
McElfresh said Congress should “authorize” the level of broadband spending proposed in HR-2, but authorizing language shouldn’t “get prescriptive” about how to use the money. “Current federal subsidy programs somewhat tilt toward fiber,” he said. “Fiber first is a laudable goal,” but “fiber deployment is quite expensive. And it's not the only way to connect every community.” There must be “flexibility to choose economical alternatives,” McElfresh said. “For example, fixed point wireless internet is reliable and robust enough for virtually any use. And it doesn't require dragging blast to every corner of the U.S. or for that matter, running cables to isolated farms or remote cabins."
Broadband mapping accuracy remains "critical," said Silver Star Communications Chief Financial Officer Jeff England during the webinar. The disconnect between urban and rural broadband connectivity is "an American issue," said Brookings Institution Center for Technology Innovation Senior Fellow Nicol Turner-Lee. She suggested Congress revisit USF matters because "you can't do much without online connectivity," including for access to the federal government's online resources. Millions of people are still "broadband insecure," and "if we put our heads together ... something's going to stick," she said.