Sen Ted Cruz Takes Aim at Municipal Broadband, Cuba

GOP presidential candidate Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) wants Congress to block the Federal Communications Commission from preempting state laws related to government provision of Internet access services or loosening communications restrictions on Cuba. That is according to a copy of a raft of proposed amendments to a couple of FCC-related bills being marked up in the Senate Commerce Committee April 27.

On the FCC Process Reform Act, Sen Cruz and Sen Deb Fischer (R-NE) are jointly proposing the amendment to rein the FCC's preemption of state laws limiting municipal broadband buildouts. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says those laws are pushed by incumbents to prevent price and service competition. The FCC has stepped in to preempt state laws in Tennessee and North Carolina, and is currently in a court battle over that decision. Sen Cruz's amendment, "prohibits the FCC form preventing states from implementing laws relating to provision of broadband Internet access service by state and local governments."

Sen Cruz is also looking to bulk up the FCC Reauthorization Act of 2016 (S 2644) with a couple of amendments targeted at Administration efforts to ease restrictions on Cuba. The first would overturn the FCC's order removing Cuba from the "exclusion list." Sen Cruz also wants to block the FCC from launching a Cuba-related rulemaking about "certain nondiscrimination requirements relating to Cuba.