House of Representatives Commerce Committee

Rep Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent a letter to Tribune Company President and CEO Peter Liguori to share the concerns of media and business experts on the Tribune Company’s proposed spinoff of its newspaper unit, which includes the Los Angeles Times.

These experts indicated that the high debt burden, inequitable asset split, and newspaper consolidation plans proposed for the spinoff will place the long-term viability of the Los Angeles Times and other Tribune papers at risk.

In the letter, Rep Waxman writes, “I hope you will review the assessment the distinguished experts provided to me and then revise the terms of the transaction. When the newspapers become a separate company, they need the financial and other resources necessary to compete effectively in the Internet age.”

The Communications and Technology Subcommittee, chaired by Rep Greg Walden (R-OR), advanced H.R. 4342, the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters (DOTCOM) Act of 2014.

The legislation, authored by Rep John Shimkus (R-IL) and cosponsored by ten members of the full committee, was approved by a vote of 16 to 10. Full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) added, “This is a question of domestic US policy and good government. Our interest and engagement in this process should exceed those nations who censor their citizens and desire to control the web. We must take our time and ensure that any successor to NTIA holds the same values we have instilled in the Internet and will resist efforts by governments to take control of the root zone. Once we transfer this oversight role away, there’s no going back.”

The DOTCOM Act was drafted by Rep Shimkus in response to the Obama Administration’s recent proposal regarding the future of the Internet. The administration’s proposal instructs the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to explore ways to remove the United States from its oversight role of the Domain Name System (DNS) and replace it with a different multistakeholder governance model. The DOTCOM Act directs the Government Accountability Office to study the proposed changes and present a non-partisan evaluation before the administration may take action to modify the current DNS.

“The reality is it would be irresponsible for NTIA to move forward without carefully considering the national security implications of this transfer. The administration says it won’t move to a ‘multistakeholder model’ that could compromise the openness of the Internet today, but they need to explain to Congress and the American people how they’ll guarantee a new multistakeholder regime won’t be influenced by foreign governments or the ITU tomorrow," said Rep Shimkus.

The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep Greg Walden (R-OR) has scheduled a markup to consider H.R. 4342, the Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters (DOTCOM) Act of 2014.

The subcommittee will convene for opening statements only on Wednesday, April 9, 2014. The subcommittee will reconvene the next day to vote. Authored by Rep John Shimkus (R-IL), the DOTCOM Act was drafted in response to the Obama Administration’s proposal regarding the future of the Internet. The proposal instructs the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to explore ways to remove the United States from its oversight role of the Domain Name System (DNS) and replace it with a different multistakeholder governance model. H.R. 4342 would direct the Government Accountability Office to study the proposed changes and present a non-partisan evaluation before the administration may take action to modify the current DNS.

The House Commerce Committee is issuing a series of white papers as the first step toward modernizing the laws governing the communications and technology sector.

The committee initiated an examination of the regulation of the communications industry, and seeks comments from all interested parties on the future of the law. The most recent white paper focuses on spectrum policy. The Committee poses 10 questions and is asking for public input by April 25, 2014.

1. What structural changes, if any, should be made to the FCC to promote efficiency and predictability in spectrum licensing?
2. What role should unlicensed spectrum play in the wireless ecosystem? How should unlicensed spectrum be allocated and managed for long-term sustainability and flexibility?
3. What should be done to encourage efficient use of spectrum by government users?
4. What steps can be taken to increase the amount of commercially available spectrum?
5. Should the Act permit the FCC to use expected auction revenue as the basis for a public interest finding? What criteria should the FCC consider as part of its analysis?
6. Should all FCC licenses be flexible use? In what instances should the Commission exercise control over the service offered? How can the Act enable better use of spectrum, either flexible or specified?
7. What principles should Congress and the FCC consider when addressing spectrum aggregation limits? How has the converging marketplace and growing demand for services changed the discussion of spectrum aggregation?
8. How effectively has the FCC used the tools at its disposal to encourage competition?
9. What is the best balance between mitigating interference concerns and avoiding limiting flexibility in the future? Can engineering and forward-looking spectrum strategies account for the possibility of unanticipated technologies and uses in adjacent spectrum bands? How do we promote flexibility without unreasonably increasing the cost of services and devices? Does the Act provide the FCC tools to address this problem?
10. What role should NTIA play in the licensing and management of spectrum? Is their current role appropriate and necessary, given the potentially duplicative functions of the FCC and NTIA in spectrum allocation and assignment?

The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep Greg Walden (R-OR) has scheduled a markup to consider draft legislation to reauthorize the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act.

The subcommittee will convene for opening statements only on March 24, 2014, at 5:30 p.m.

“This vote will be another step toward ensuring that the 1.5 million Americans who rely on satellite television services don’t lose access to major programming at the end of the year,” said Chairman Walden. “The draft legislation, which addresses a number of discrete issues raised over the course of the subcommittee’s year-long review, strikes the appropriate balance to improve the law without offering any fundamental changes to the marketplace, which are best left to our work toward a Communications Act update. I look forward to working with the rest of the subcommittee to advance this must-pass legislation next week.”

The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep Greg Walden (R-OR), held a legislative hearing to examine draft legislation aimed at reauthorizing the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act.

The draft legislation would reauthorize the law for five years and address a number of discrete issues raised over the course of the subcommittee’s year-long review of STELA. Reauthorizing STELA would ensure continued operation of satellite television services for 1.5 million American households. In addition to reauthorizing the law for five years, the draft legislation includes limitations on joint retransmission consent negotiations in conjunction with limitations on FCC action on broadcaster shared services arrangements, the elimination of the “sweeps” week prohibition on signal change, and the elimination of the set-top box integration ban.

Members today heard from representatives of the satellite, broadcast, cable, set-top-box, and public interest communities who discussed the provisions included in the draft legislation.

The House of Representatives approved HR 3675, the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act, by voice vote.

Authored by Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), this bipartisan legislation aims to increase transparency, predictability, and accountability to the commission. “The communications sector is one of the most innovative, competitive, and robust sectors of our economy. But, for innovation and investment to continue in communications, we must not weigh industry down with needless red tape and delay,” said Chairman Walden.

“The communications industry represents a promising sector of our economy that has fostered widespread investment, innovation, job creation, and greater consumer choice,” added subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH). “As members of Congress, we have to ensure that businesses and entrepreneurs are equipped with the opportunity and flexibility to continue making that sustained progress. The FCC Process Reform Act should facilitate this effort.”

The FCC Process Reform Act now heads to the Senate where it will join the FCC Consolidated Reporting Act, which was approved by the full House in September by a vote of 415-0, in waiting for consideration. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) has introduced Senate companion legislation to both bills.

[March 11]