Jimm Phillips

Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya cleared an initial confirmation hurdle Thursday after the Senate Commerce Committee voted 14-14 on both picks, but they still face a long road to floor approval, said lawmakers and other officials in interviews. Panel Democrats uniformly backed Sohn and Bedoya, but all Republicans opposed them. Six of the 14 Republicans attended the executive session, fulfilling expectations they wouldn’t boycott the meeting (see 2203020076). The committee also tied 14-14 on Consumer Product Safety Commission nominee Mary Boyle. It advanced National Institute of Standards and Technology director nominee Laurie Locascio and International Trade Administration nominee Grant Harris on voice votes.

It's unlikely all 14 Senate Commerce Committee Republicans will boycott a Thursday executive session that's scheduled to include votes on Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya, based on interviews this week with ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi and other GOP members. At least one Republican would need to attend the Thursday meeting to give Senate Commerce a quorum needed to proceed on both nominees. It's likely Commerce would tie 14-14 along party lines on both nominees if all 28 members attend, Senate aides and lobbyists told us. Wicker and other Republicans previously left open the possibility they would boycott a Sohn vote (see 2202240067). Senate Commerce jettisoned votes on Sohn and Bedoya from a Feb. 2 committee meeting after Republicans threatened not to show up (see 2202020069).

Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said Monday she hopes to “somehow combine” the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (HR-3816/S-2992), the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (HR-1735/S-673) and other Big Tech-focused bills “and get a vote on the Senate floor” on the package this year. Klobuchar and other lawmakers who support HR-1735/S-673 encouraged NAB members to press members of Congress to back a combined package, during a Monday event. NAB sees HR-1735/S-673 as one of its top 2022 priorities (see 2202110068), as members plan to meet with lawmakers Tuesday.

Senate maneuvering on newly named Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya is expected to draw many telecom and tech policy stakeholders’ attention in the coming weeks. President Joe Biden nominated Jackson, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit judge, Friday to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson has little record on communications law matters but has played a larger role on administrative tech-focused legal matters, legal experts said.

Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn’s recent answers to Senate Commerce Committee members’ follow-up questions from a Feb. 9 confirmation hearing (see 2201280066) are unlikely to dissuade ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi and other panel Republicans from pursuing a boycott of a future committee vote to advance her confirmation process, Senate aides and lobbyists told us. In responses released Tuesday, Sohn sought to counter GOP claims she wasn't sufficiently candid about whether she played a role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition (SFC) in securing a revised $700,000 settlement of broadcasters’ lawsuit against the shuttered rebroadcaster (see 2202220066).

Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn again pushed back, in responses released Tuesday to Senate Commerce Committee members’ follow-up questions against claims she hasn't been sufficiently candid about whether she played a role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition (SFC) in securing a revised $700,000 settlement of broadcasters’ lawsuit against the shuttered rebroadcaster (see 2202090070). Sohn got repeated GOP criticism during a second confirmation hearing earlier this month over the Locast settlement process and her January commitment to temporarily recuse herself from some FCC proceedings involving retransmission consent and broadcast copyright matters (see 2201280066). Sohn’s repeat appearance in front of Senate Commerce isn't considered likely to have changed her prospects of getting support only from committee Democrats (see 2202090070).

NTIA’s new spectrum coordination agreement with the FCC shows the two agencies are committed to building up an “evidence-based” approach to evaluating the potential that future wireless industry use of spectrum bands will cause harmful interference to users of adjacent frequencies, said Administrator Alan Davidson during a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing. Many subcommittee members focused on whether the FCC-NTIA agreement announced Tuesday will effectively quell the interagency spectrum infighting that plagued the Trump administration and extended into the Biden administration’s first year in office (see 2202150001). Lawmakers also questioned Davidson’s vision for NTIA implementing programs to distribute $48 billion in broadband money included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

NTIA stakeholders will watch a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee NTIA oversight hearing for any signs of lawmakers’ interest in pursuing legislation to revamp the agency, amid an uneven Senate appetite for such measures. NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, who has led NTIA for just over a month, is likely to face questions about his vision for the agency’s disbursal of connectivity money under its control from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and COVID-19 aid measures. The hearing is likely to also focus on the NTIA-FCC commitment to improve the two agencies’ coordination on spectrum policy (see 2202150001). The hearing will begin at noon EST. It’s House Communications’ first NTIA oversight hearing since 2018 (see 1803060048).

The FCC and NTIA committed Tuesday to update their 2003 memorandum of understanding, among other ways to improve the two agencies’ coordination on spectrum policy matters amid continued congressional ire over federal infighting on those matters that’s extended into the Biden administration (see 2202030081). The FCC-NTIA agreement is likely to be a main focus of a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing with NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, communications officials told us. Lawmakers continue to show interest in pursuing legislation to prevent future policy fracases, though it could be tough to address this year (see 2202070066). NTIA stakeholders will also watch the Wednesday hearing for any signs of lawmakers’ interest in pursuing legislation to revamp the agency (see 2202150075). The hearing will begin at noon EST. It’s House Communications’ first NTIA oversight hearing since 2018 (see 1803060048).

Vice President Kamala Harris and other Biden administration officials touted the FCC’s $14.2 billion affordable connectivity program Monday as an example of successful implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as the program hit a milestone of enrolling more than 10 million households. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., is holding out hope that Congress could appropriate additional money for the FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund and other broadband programs by passing it as part of a balkanized chunk of the scuttled Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package (HR-5376) but told us he believes keeping the connectivity money isn't going to make or break his support.