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.

The Senate Commerce Committee scheduled a full committee hearing Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in 253 Russell to consider nominations. Nominees under consideration were not revealed in the notice or given in response to our inquiries. President Barack Obama nominated FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly for a full term in October, and committee Republicans have told us they would like the Senate to approve O’Rielly’s renomination in the lame-duck session (see 1410100087). O’Rielly’s term expired this summer, and he is empowered as a commissioner through the end of next year.

President Barack Obama's campaign arm mocked Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, as it continued to seek backers in the White House's quest to pressure the FCC to reclassify broadband as a Communications Act Title II telecom service (see 1411100033). “That's something worth fighting for -- especially in the face of an absurdly well-funded opposition,” Organizing for Action Digital Director Toby Fallsgraff told supporters by email, asking people to sign the White House petition backing Obama’s plan. “The groups trying hard to end net neutrality have plenty of allies in Washington. One of them, Senator Ted Cruz, wasted no time yesterday criticizing the President's plan, calling it 'Obamacare for the internet'... which, as far as I can tell, makes sense to exactly no one.” Organizing for Action is a fundraising and campaign arm of the Democratic Party affiliated with Obama and run by Jim Messina, his 2012 campaign manager. The BarackObama.com petition, funded and run by Organizing for Action, asks people to “add your name to tell the FCC you support the President's plan to protect net neutrality.” The Fallsgraff email praises the concept of the open Internet, which it says is under threat: “But if some internet service providers get their way, that could all change forever. They want to have a say in how you use the internet, or how fast your favorite sites load.” Cruz is a member of the Communications Subcommittee and has weighed legislative action on net neutrality. In a Washington Postop-ed Thursday, Cruz called net neutrality one of the Internet’s “biggest regulatory threats” and reaffirmed his earlier Obamacare label for it: “It would put the government in charge of determining Internet pricing, terms of service and what types of products and services can be delivered, leading to fewer choices, fewer opportunities and higher prices. … If the federal government seizes the power to regulate Internet pricing and goods and services, the regulations will never end.”

House Republicans want to bring all five FCC commissioners in for an oversight hearing next month. The House Communications Subcommittee announced a Dec. 10 oversight hearing pegged to net neutrality and the Communications Act Title II reclassification support from President Barack Obama this week. Industry officials had told us lawmakers were trying to hold such a December oversight hearing before Obama’s announcement Monday (see 1411100033). Obama was “ignoring the term ‘independent agency’” and “wanted the world to know who was boss when it comes to net neutrality,” said Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich. “As the FCC moves closer to a vote that could put the government in control of the Internet, it is imperative that the Congress hears directly from all five commissioners and leading stakeholders.” Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., criticized Title II and wants “an update on these proceedings in early December.” He said Obama “remains steadfast in his support for a government take-over of another critical piece of the American economy.” The subcommittee hasn't announced a room number or time for the hearing.