Republicans push ahead with spectrum bill despite Dem calls for delay

{mosads} “We feel the Democrats have not been well treated in this process,” Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said. Republicans stopped negotiating with the committee Democrats on Oct. 4. Walden released the language of the bill on Tuesday.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) agreed with the Democrats that they should have been given more time to study the legislation.

“I do think the minority has a legitimate issue,” he said. “Something this important should have a little more time.”

But Walden argued that after five hearings on the topic, it was time to move forward with his bill, the Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum (JOBS) Act.

The measure would authorize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to auction off spectrum that currently belongs to television broadcasters, splitting some of the revenue with the stations that choose to participate. The spectrum is potentially worth billions of dollars to wireless carriers, which are struggling to meet the growing data demands of smartphones and tablet computers.

The bill also establishes a nationwide public safety broadband network, which was one of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Report. The wireless network would allow first responders to communicate using video and other data during emergencies and would help officials from different agencies communicate with each other.

In a concession to Democrats, the Republican bill allocates the D-block, a valuable chunk of spectrum, for the public safety network. Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) expressed frustration that Democrats did not give Republicans more credit for compromising on the issue, saying he used to be a “hell no” on the issue, but has since changed his mind.

Democrats criticized the Republican bill for giving too much control of the public-safety network to the states instead of establishing a national nonprofit organization to manage the system. 

They also argued the bill should authorize the FCC to designate some spectrum reclaimed from broadcasters for unlicensed use. Tech companies such as Google and Microsoft have pushed for more unlicensed spectrum, which does not belong to any one company and can be used for technologies such as Wi-Fi.

Walden argued that allocating additional spectrum for unlicensed use would be a give away to big companies at the taxpayer expense. He noted that the government will have to pay broadcasters to incentivize them to give up their spectrum and said the government should not pay for frequencies that it will then hand over to private companies for free.

He said his bill would allow the FCC to designate “little bits and pieces” of spectrum for unlicensed use after it completes the auctions.

Democrats questioned a provision of the Republican bill that creates a $3 billion fund to repay television stations for costs they would incur if they are forced to move to new broadcast frequencies. The Democratic bill sets aside only $1 billion for the fund. Walden said the provision would not create a “blank check” for broadcasters and not all of the money may be used. 

The panel approved an amendment from Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) to prohibit the FCC from imposing net-neutrality regulations on companies that buy spectrum leases at auction. Democrats voted against the amendment and warned it could ruin the bill’s chances at attracting bipartisan support.

The panel also adopted an amendment from Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and John Shimkus (R-Ill.) to provide funding to develop next-generation 911 technology that would allow call centers to accept emergency videos and text messages.

The bill now moves to the full Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.

Democrats said they hoped they could work with Republicans to craft a compromise before the full committee vote.

The Senate version of the spectrum bill, S. 911, cleared the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in June but has not come up for a vote in the full Senate. There was speculation that the deficit-reduction supercommittee would include spectrum language in a possible deal before those talks collapsed. And President Obama included spectrum provisions in his jobs bill, though Congress has not acted on them.