Jimm Phillips

The Delaware House Appropriations Committee unanimously advanced an amended version of data broker transparency bill HB-262 Wednesday. The measure would require companies that collect and sell information of more than 500 Delawareans to register and fill out a questionnaire with the state's DOJ, which then would share information with consumers on a website. The House Technology and Telecommunications Committee advanced an earlier version of HB-262 in January (see 2201250060).

The Senate gaveled out Thursday for a two-week Easter/Passover recess, meaning further floor action on FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya and FCC nominee Gigi Sohn will be delayed until at least April 25, as expected (see 2204050064). Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., filed cloture Thursday on Bedoya but hadn't scheduled a vote at our deadline. The chamber voted 51-50 last week to discharge Bedoya from Senate Commerce Committee jurisdiction and must hold a similar vote on Sohn because the committee cast tied votes on both nominees last month (see 2203030070). Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us before the chamber voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court (see 2204070058) that she doubted further pre-recess action on either nominee was likely unless the chamber stayed in session past Thursday. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, continued to believe Sohn’s confirmation prospects are dimming amid chatter about potential Democratic holdouts on the nominee (see 2203300069). “That’s why Schumer's not bringing her to the floor” before the recess, Sullivan said. Democrats who are facing tough re-election battles this year who might vote in Sohn’s favor would be delivering their GOP opponents “a campaign ad on a silver platter.” The Chamber of Progress, CompTIA, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Consumer Technology Association, Incompas, Internet Infrastructure Coalition and NTCA pressed the Senate Thursday to “move expeditiously” to confirm Sohn. “The absence of a fifth Commissioner hamstrings the agency when U.S. leadership on technology policy is most needed,” the groups said in a letter to Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “As authoritarian regimes around the world move to supplant U.S. leadership and restrict access to an open and free internet, we must ensure the U.S. government is well positioned to thoroughly consider and advance policies that promote democratic values.”

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel cautioned House Communications Subcommittee members that some sales from upcoming auctions of the 2.5 GHz band and “construction permits for new full power television stations in communities with no license for the allotted station” will be on hold “pending reauthorization” of the commission’s auction authority if the current statute lapses Sept. 30 without a renewal. CTIA CEO Meredith Baker, meanwhile, urged the leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees to adopt a stopgap renewal due to the limited legislative time before Sept. 30. The issue was a major focus of House Communications’ FCC oversight hearing last week (see 2203310060).

Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., cast renewed doubt Tuesday on the chances the chamber will do a discharge vote this week on FCC nominee Gigi Sohn or take further action on FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya, which would delay further consideration of the two candidates before the Senate gavels out for a two-week recess set to last until April 25. The Senate appeared to be prioritizing confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, with an eye to give her final approval Thursday or Friday.

NTIA and other entities implementing connectivity language from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act should continue to prioritize the measure’s $65 billion in broadband funding for unserved areas even if ongoing supply chain issues make it more attractive for governments to repurpose that money for areas that would be easier or more economical to build out, said Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., during a Monday American Enterprise Institute event. Fischer and other officials emphasized the importance of strong oversight of the IIJA broadband programs and the need for close coordination among responsible federal agencies.

House Communications Subcommittee members largely but not completely avoided using a Thursday FCC oversight hearing to make partisan points, amid the commission’s focus on bipartisan issues during the ongoing 2-2 split, as expected (see 2203300001). Lawmakers instead focused on questions about the FCC’s work to produce improved broadband connectivity data maps, its handling of the affordable connectivity program and Emergency Connectivity Fund programs, and how commissioners believe Congress should structure a renewal of the commission’s spectrum auction authority.

Continued uncertainty about the prospects for Senate confirmation of Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and its implications for ushering in a 3-2 Democratic majority are unlikely to be a major factor at a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing on the agency, lawmakers and other observers told us. Subpanel members instead plan to focus on the FCC’s successes since the beginning of 2021 and telecom policy items that lawmakers believe they can reach a bipartisan consensus on before the coming midterm election campaign. The partly virtual hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

The Senate appeared highly likely Tuesday to vote this week on discharging Democratic FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya from the Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction, lawmakers and aides told us. The chamber may also do a discharge vote this week on FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, but that’s less likely since leadership is prioritizing action on Bedoya over her, officials said. Senate leaders previously eyed initial votes on Bedoya and Sohn last week (see 2203220058) but scuttled that plan when it was clear all 50 chamber Democrats wouldn’t be present to ensure their advancement.

The FCC and most other tech and telecom-focused federal agencies would get a funding increase in FY 2023 under a budget proposal President Joe Biden released Monday. Five entities -- the DOJ Antitrust Division, Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), NTIA, FTC and National Institute of Standards and Technology -- would get double-digit percentage increases compared with FY 2022. Biden signed off earlier this month on the FY22 omnibus appropriations package, which itself increased funding for the FCC, FTC and other agencies (see 2203150076).

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson continued telling lawmakers there are opportunities for judges to reinterpret existing laws to reflect emerging technologies, during her Wednesday confirmation hearing, but said she believes Congress can make it “far easier for judges who are doing their duties to interpret the law” by updating statutes to reflect “modern innovations.” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., echoed Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and other Democrats in urging Jackson to be cognizant of those technologies as she interprets laws (see 2203230066). Tech and telecom issues didn’t come up during Senate Judiciary’s Thursday hearing on Jackson, which featured witnesses giving outside opinions on Jackson.