Thune looks to overhaul communications laws

The Senate Commerce Committee plans to begin the first stages of an update to the nation’s communications laws, Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) said in a Wednesday speech outlining the panel’s agenda this year. 

Thune said the current debate at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about reclassifying broadband Internet like a utility stems from an obsolete legal framework — and is being pushed by “an increasingly imperious president.” 

{mosads}“With the FCC poised to reclassify broadband due to a lack of clear statutory authority, we can readily see the consequences of that obsolescence and the need for action,” Thune told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute. 

House leaders are a year into their own review of the law and Thune said he would start a parallel process in the next few months now that Republicans have taken control of the upper chamber. 

“Updating the Communications Act is no small undertaking, but it would be a dereliction of duty if Congress did not at least try to modernize the law,” he said in prepared remarks. 

The South Dakota senator said the committee would seek guidance on topics that include universal Internet service, interconnection, spectrum allocation and video policy. 

It is too early to tell what an update to the communications laws would look like, he said. Thune did not rule out the possibility of moving a large omnibus package like the 1996 update or breaking it into smaller bills. 

Leaders of the Energy and Commerce Committee in the House have been working for more than a year seeking input into updating the nation’s communications laws. The Communications Act was first written in 1934 and last updated in 1996 during the Clinton administration. 

Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) have said an update is necessary to reflect technology that was just in its infancy 17 years ago. They have released a series of white papers ranging from broad topics about modernizing the law to regulation of video content and spectrum policy. 

Thune said he would continue to push draft legislation meant to override the FCC’s net neutrality rules. His proposal would enact many of the principles that advocates have called for, while also scaling back the commission’s authority. 

Democrats have largely balked at the proposal. Thune acknowledged that his proposal would not be able to advance without Democratic support. He said he hadn’t “landed” any Democratic support but said discussions are ongoing. 

The Republican lawmaker blasted the FCC’s current net neutrality rule-making process, and blamed a “determined and self-confident FCC chairman being pushed by an increasingly imperious President.” Without congressional action, Thune said, the FCC rules would get tied up in years of lawsuits.

Thune also touched on a number of other priorities for the committee, including cybersecurity legislation, trade and a restructuring at the FCC. He wants Congress to regularly reauthorize the commission.  

The senator applauded Obama’s recent cybersecurity push, but again said the president’s support could have come earlier. He expressed confidence that Republicans will bring legislation to the floor regarding information sharing and requirements on data breach notification. 

He also announced the committee would hold a hearing on the Commerce Department’s plan to hand over control of the system governing Internet addresses. Republicans have worried the process could allow repressive governments to assert broader control. He said the Commerce Department should continue its oversight indefinitely if that goal cannot be met.