TVFreedom lambasted Congress for the different policies that have come up this year during the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization process. TVFreedom is a broadcaster coalition with NAB among its members. “Current Congressional efforts to regulate the video marketplace are unfortunately myopically focused on one faulty premise -- that TV blackouts have reached epidemic proportions due to retransmission consent disputes between broadcasters and pay-TV providers,” TVFreedom’s spokesman Robert Kenny wrote in a Monday op-ed for The Hill (http://bit.ly/1DSkWwN). He attacked the pay-TV industry in broad terms and backed two senators he views as pursuing these problems -- Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., for introducing an amendment to curb “gratuitous set-top box rental fees,” and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., for introducing an amendment on pay-TV billing practices and expected to hold a hearing on the issue. “Congress can reverse this trend of constant consumer abuse as it embarks on reforming the nation’s video marketplace,” said Kenny. “Let’s hope lawmakers see passed pay-TV’s ‘fat-cat’ lobbying tactics and take action to help lower consumers’ monthly cable and satellite TV bills that have risen at twice the rate of inflation for the past two decades.” Kenny attacked congressional provisions that would limit broadcaster joint retransmission consent negotiation as well as, without naming it directly, the broadcast a la carte proposal known as Local Choice, which was dropped from a Senate STELA reauthorization bill. Pay-TV companies have united to lobby against broadcasters on many of these issues through the coalition known as the American Television Alliance.

The Telecommunications Industry Association told Congress that telehealth should be a covered benefit. TIA had joined other groups, including the American Telemedicine Association, the App Association, Intel, Panasonic and Qualcomm, to submit a letter Friday to the House Commerce Committee on its 21st Century Cures initiative. “Congress has the responsibility to take necessary steps to help Americans realize the benefits of these solutions,” they said (http://bit.ly/1wREE73). “Congress should immediately address restrictions in Section 1834(m) of the Social Security Act, which have resulted in arduous constraints on telehealth services, particularly via its geographic and originating site limitations. Restrictions in the law such as those in 1834(m) significantly limit patient access to new technologies, effectively discouraging providers from utilizing advanced [information and communication technology] ICT solutions in their practices and depriving millions of Americans the benefits of cutting-edge care available today.” They submitted other recommendations and said lawmakers should request a Congressional Budget Office study of “the costs and benefits associated with the expanded use of telehealth during 4Q 2014.”

NCTA fought back in defense of a Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act (S-2799) provision that would repeal the set-top box integration ban. “Public Knowledge has been flooding inboxes calling on their network to take a stand on what they describe as an anti-consumer measure in must-pass video legislation,” said a Monday NCTA blog post (http://bit.ly/1rwikyj), referring to a recent PK campaign (CD Sept 26 p12). “A closer look shows that Public Knowledge is distorting the impact of this change in spite of the fact that these changes would benefit consumers. The integration ban is an outdated rule which forces cable operators -- and cable operators alone -- to include a separate piece of descrambling equipment known as a CableCARD in the set-top boxes they lease to customers, which adds costs, wastes energy and provides no benefit.” Public Knowledge “appears oblivious to this injustice, perhaps blinded by their seemingly endless desire to criticize the cable industry,” NCTA said. The House approved a similar provision in July. The battle over this STAVRA provision prevented the Senate from approving a Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act proposal earlier this month (CD Sept 22 p1).

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., worries the FCC “is relegating broadcasting to the past, rather than working to give broadcasters a chance to compete in the modern content marketplace,” he planned to tell the Oregon Association of Broadcasters Friday, according to prepared remarks. Walden enumerated multiple issues of concern around “a number of its actions,” pointing to the agency’s “ban on joint sales agreements, changes to the UHF discount, and a persistent delay in processing those petitions for allocation changes from VHF to UHF filed prior to the Middle Class Tax Relief Act,” all of which are “troubling,” he said. He insisted that broadcasters that do not wish to relinquish spectrum in the broadcast TV incentive auction should be allowed to make that choice. “I intend to ensure that the Commission properly implements the provisions of the Act to preserve a vibrant post-auction broadcast environment,” Walden said. “That includes ensuring that broadcasters who wish to remain broadcasters can do so; ensuring that the FCC makes all reasonable efforts to maintain coverage areas; ensuring that the FCC coordinates with Mexico and Canada; ensuring that the FCC does not unnecessarily impact LPTV and translators; and, ensuring that the FCC raises enough money to compensate stations that return spectrum, to reimburse those that relocate, and to fund FirstNet.” Walden criticized the laws governing broadcasting as particularly old, and slammed the broadcast media ownership rules, saying he plans to take aim at the rules in a planned overhaul of the Communications Act: “It is our intent that the #CommActUpdate take a hard look at the current state of the market and have a serious conversation on how we can remove unnecessary government intrusion into broadcasting and let broadcasters compete in the 21st century.” Walden criticized FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler for “having taken it upon himself to unilaterally ‘reform’ industries without regard for the consequences to consumers, to jobs and the economy, or to the innovation that has been the hallmark of the American communications industry” and referred to the FCC’s “seeming disregard for transparency and process.” The commission declined to comment.

Public Knowledge kicked off a more formal campaign against the provision of the Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act (S-2799) that would repeal the set-top box integration ban. The provision “would make it difficult for consumers to use devices like TiVo DVRs, which use CableCARDs to access video programming,” Public Knowledge said in a widely circulated email message Thursday. “No member of Congress should prioritize broadcast and cable company interests over the rights of the people using these services.” NCTA has strongly lobbied in favor of the integration ban repeal. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., had proposed and withdrew an amendment during the bill’s markup session last week that would have changed the integration ban provision. He blocked the Senate’s Sept. 18 attempt to pass by unanimous consent a Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act bill that included the STAVRA provisions, prompting backlash from Senate Commerce leaders of both parties (CD Sept 23 p1). That was the last day Congress was in session until mid-November, and STELA expires Dec. 31. Public Knowledge backs the Markey amendment and asked people to spread the following message on Twitter: “#STAVRA reauthorization must not hurt consumers, learn more: bit.ly/Yd6sGC @MarkeyMemo @publicknowledge.” The message links to a Sept. 17 blog post from senior staff attorney John Bergmayer blasting the STAVRA provision.

The House Commerce Committee received 50 responses to its white paper on USF policy, the committee revealed Thursday, posting all comments online (http://1.usa.gov/1lBg6gN). It had issued the white paper in August as part of the Communications Subcommittee initiative to overhaul the Communications Act, and responses were due Sept. 19. It was the fifth white paper on aspects of the overhaul issued this year. Respondents include major companies such as AT&T and Verizon as well as state groups like NARUC and NASUCA and Microsoft, which has responded to every white paper so far. Other commenters include the Nebraska Public Service Commission, the Oregon Telecom Association and the Telecommunications Association of Maine. “We urge Congress to encourage the FCC to create an inclusive environment where all eligible providers have an opportunity to compete for support with the goal of closing the gap between broadband available in urban and rural areas,” the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association told House lawmakers. Microsoft lauded the shift in focusing USF on broadband and encouraged Congress to “continue to afford the FCC with authority and flexibility to reform the mechanism for contributing to the universal service fund, as needed.” The Alaska Communications System noted that “contrary to the prevailing view in Washington,” it “has never considered the USF system as ‘broken,'” but said it’s “vital to include safeguards that ensure that available funding is used efficiently.”

The administration should revise its plans to relocate and consolidate the Department of Homeland Security headquarters, and Congress may want to consider making future funding for the project contingent on DHS and General Services Administration progress, said a GAO report. Completion of the $4.5 billion construction project at the St. Elizabeths campus in Washington is now estimated at 2026. The location is slated to eventually house senior DHS officials and Customs and Border Protection headquarters. DHS and GSA officials said the project has received $1.5 billion less than requested for FY 2009-14, GAO said Friday (http://1.usa.gov/1uH3g0F). “According to these officials, this gap has escalated estimated costs by over $1 billion -- from $3.3 billion to the current $4.5 billion -- and delayed scheduled completion by over 10 years,” said a report summary. It’s “disappointing that we don’t yet have a detailed and viable plan for the consolidation,” said Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee ranking member Tom Coburn, R-Okla., in a Monday news release (http://1.usa.gov/1wLAC04).

Low-quality software patents and certain copyright laws have hurt competition and suppressed small-business growth, said the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in comments filed Tuesday to the White House (http://bit.ly/1rndK6q) in connection with the administration’s efforts to update its Strategy for American Innovation (http://1.usa.gov/1quuBz3). A June Supreme Court decision heightened the criteria for software patents (CD June 20 p13), but legislation like the House-passed Innovation Act (HR-3309) is needed, EFF said. The digital privacy advocate also pointed to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), “ostensibly intended to stop copyright infringers from defeating anti-piracy protections added to copyrighted works,” EFF said. “In practice, however, these provisions have been used to stifle a wide array of legitimate activities.” Several markets suffered as a result -- laser printer toner cartridges, videogame console accessories and mobile phones. The organization pressed the White House to support the Unlocking Technology Act (HR-1892), which hasn’t moved out of committee (http://1.usa.gov/1rnf6Ox).

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., applauded Monday’s summary judgment ruling for pre-1972 public performance royalties against SiriusXM in U.S. District Court (CD Sept 24 p7), in a statement Tuesday. The Los Angeles court said SiriusXM broke California copyright law by failing to license and compensate Flo & Eddie for their pre-1972 sound recordings (http://bit.ly/1wKCoyz). “Artists deserve to be compensated for their creativity,” said Blackburn, a co-sponsor of the Respecting Senior Performers as Essential Cultural Treasures Act (HR-4772) (http://1.usa.gov/1wLsXPc). The act would establish performance royalties on digital radio for pre-1972 recordings (CD June 19 p11). Blackburn said she hoped the ruling would “encourage other digital services such as Pandora to step up and voluntarily compensate artists for their pre-1972 recordings.”

House and Senate bills would give the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) the authority it needs to properly oversee the government’s surveillance programs, said lawmakers supporting the Strengthening Privacy, Oversight, and Transparency (SPOT) Act. The proposal would give PCLOB the ability to issue subpoenas itself, instead of relying on the Justice Department, and it would make the board jobs full-time positions, said a Tuesday news release. “This bill gives the board the teeth it needs to fulfill its mandate,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who introduced the measure with Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. Under the bill, PCLOB’s jurisdiction would expand to include “all foreign intelligence activities,” said Udall, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, which funds PCLOB. Reps. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., introduced the House version. “It makes little sense to charge [PCLOB] with independently monitoring the executive branch’s actions related to privacy concerns, but require the Attorney General’s approval before issuing subpoenas,” Gowdy said.