Jimm Phillips

Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., formally took over the chair's gavel Thursday after the panel passed its rules and budget for this Congress. The committee didn’t disclose subcommittee leadership roles, but a Senate aide told us announcements are coming soon. Ed Markey, D-Mass., is expected to take over as Communications Subcommittee chairman (see 2101190001). Previous lead Democrat Brian Schatz of Hawaii is giving up the role (see 2101290049). Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., is expected to remain his party's lead member (see 2011020048). Cantwell said she will make “information age” issues a top Commerce priority, including broadband, privacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. The committee will “come up with what is our infrastructure response” to the economic fallout from COVID-19 “to keep our infrastructure moving,” she said. The committee needs to address tech-related disparities, including “strategies to help women in the workforce, particularly in ... science, technology, engineering, and math.” Cantwell said she's “the first woman” to chair Senate Commerce and "I don't plan on being the last one.” The committee has four new members: John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.; Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M.; Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.; and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina confirmed Wednesday he will again seek $100 billion in broadband funding as part of coming infrastructure legislation, as expected (see 2011200056). The House Commerce Committee, meanwhile, proposed $7.6 billion in E-rate remote learning funding as part of its portion of the coming COVID-19 budget reconciliation measure. It’s bringing the bill up for a committee markup Thursday, also as expected (see 2102090079). Commerce Democrats’ decision to fast-track consideration of the measure drew committee Republicans' ire.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., hoped the COVID-19 aid package Democrats are aiming to pass via budget reconciliation includes additional E-rate funding. Pallone emphasized during an Incompas event the committee’s part of the pandemic bill, which it intends to mark up Thursday, is unlikely to address other telecom matters. More broadband money is almost certain to make it into additional economic aid measures and an infrastructure bill targeted for later this year, Pallone said.

Top Senate Commerce Committee Democrats are beginning to prod President Joe Biden to move swiftly to name a permanent FCC chair and nominate a third Democratic commissioner, given the agency's 2-2 deadlock. Top committee Republicans told us they oppose Biden or Senate Democrats moving quickly given the likelihood it would lead to a return of net neutrality rules like the ones the commission adopted in 2015 (see 2101060055). The Senate is processing Biden’s nominees to cabinet posts, including attorney general nominee Merrick Garland and commerce secretary nominee Gina Raimondo.

The Senate Commerce Committee voted 21-3 Wednesday to advance commerce secretary nominee Gina Raimondo, likely setting up a floor confirmation vote in the coming days. Committee Republicans continued to raise concerns that Raimondo hasn’t unequivocally ruled out the Commerce Department rolling back restrictions on Huawei and other Chinese telecom and tech firms. The Wednesday vote was likely the last committee activity to occur with Republicans in control. The Senate agreed by unanimous consent Wednesday to approve a resolution to organize the 50-50 chamber, giving Democrats control of committee gavels.

Commerce secretary nominee Gina Raimondo told Senate Commerce Committee members before a planned Wednesday vote that she doesn't believe there's reason for the Commerce Department to remove Huawei and other Chinese companies from current departmental restrictions, like the Bureau of Industry and Security’s entity list. Raimondo’s comments, posted Tuesday, came amid rising GOP concerns about her failure at last week's confirmation hearing to definitively rule out removing Huawei from the entity list (see 2101260063). Senate Commerce's meeting to vote on Raimondo will begin at 9:30 a.m. in 325 Russell. The Senate also confirmed Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary and Alejandro Mayorkas as homeland security secretary (see personals section of this publication's issue).

Three Republican senators are concerned that commerce secretary nominee Gina Raimondo’s “suggesting that all aspects of the approach to U.S. economic and technological competition are up for review” would include Commerce Department restrictions on Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei. Raimondo said during her confirmation hearing that the U.S. should protect its networks against Chinese interference and didn't commit to keep Huawei on the Bureau of Industry and Security’s entity list (see 2101260063). The White House later clarified that President Joe Biden’s administration views Huawei as a threat to national security (see 2101270064). “Although we agree that some export controls, the Entity List, and Foreign Direct Product Rule could be reviewed to strengthen their application, we do not agree that such a review is necessary or desirable in the case of Huawei,” Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Marco Rubio of Florida and Ben Sasse of Nebraska wrote Raimondo Friday: “Without an effort to cut off Huawei … there are no market-based solutions to protect our allies’ companies or create the space for Americans or other trusted actors to compete.” They want her to explain whether she foresees “any scenario in which you would … either remove Huawei, or its subsidiaries, or spin-off companies from the Entity List (or expand any related general licenses), or, would permit any relaxation of the Foreign Direct Product Rule as it relates to 5G technology.” If other Commerce Department nominees “do not make clear that they will adhere to these broad concerns and objectives, they may face substantial opposition from Congress,” the senators said.

Senate Communications Subcommittee lead Democrat Brian Schatz of Hawaii confirmed to us he’s “probably” going to give up an opportunity to chair the subpanel in this Congress to retain other leadership roles, as expected (see 2101190001). That makes it all but certain that Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., will take over the Communications gavel, lawmakers and lobbyists said. Democrats will have to wait to formally take control of Senate Communications and other panels until leaders finalize a power-sharing agreement to handle the 50-50 chamber.

House Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said Friday he’s working with President Joe Biden’s administration to tweak a coming infrastructure spending package but is “ready to move pretty quickly.” The Biden administration appears to “like the thrust” of the Moving Forward Act infrastructure bill the House passed last year (see 2007010071) but may “want to go bigger” in some aspects or “modify parts” before its refiling, DeFazio told The Hill's webcast Friday. The act included $100 billion in broadband and next-generation 911 funding (see 2006180062). House Infrastructure ranking member Sam Graves, R-Mo., said he remains interested in an infrastructure package but is concerned by proposals to increase the gas tax and other avenues to pay for the extra spending. U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue said an infrastructure package should include a broadband element and suggested a 25 cent gas tax increase could be used to pay for the overall measure. Joint Economic Committee member Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., suggested lawmakers consider alternatives to traditional fiber deployments to increase broadband connectivity as they consider infrastructure spending. Rep. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., emphasized the need for broadband spending, noting the federal government has “waited an inordinate amount of time for the private sector to take up the slack.”

The Commerce Department and NTIA during President Joe Biden’s administration will strive to end interagency spectrum infighting that became endemic in recent years, Commerce Secretary nominee Gina Raimondo told the Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday. She said during her confirmation hearing NTIA should play a role in other matters, including broadband funding.