Policymakers

One of the strange features of American government is that an 82-year-old’s broken hip can cause a sea change in telecom policy. The 82-year-old in question is Sen Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who had surgery after a fall and is said to be resting comfortably. But while Leahy recuperates, he won’t be able to cast votes and Democrats won’t be able to flex their razor-thin Senate majority — which could cost the administration its last chance to institute net neutrality rules. The temporary stalemate caused by Leahy’s recovery has lots of downstream effects.

The Federal Communications Commission announces the anticipated rechartering of the Consumer Advisory Committee and solicits nominations for membership on the Committee, subject to renewal of the Committee’s charter on or before October 16, 2022. Nominations for membership are due on August 1, 2022. The Committee’s mission is to make recommendations to the FCC regarding topics of particular interest to consumers, to be specified by the Commission, and to facilitate consumers’ participation in proceedings before the Commission.

There is mounting evidence that Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], President Biden's nomination to the Federal Communications Commission, may never get Senate approval. That could spell the end of his efforts to reinstate the agency's net neutrality guidelines trashed by former President Trump. Without Sohn, Biden's FCC will remain deadlocked with two Republicans and two Democrats, and therefore won't have the votes to move forward with net neutrality.

Time is not on the side of Gigi Sohn, the White House's embattled pick for the open seat on the Federal Communications Commission. Tapped in October of 2021 to help carry out the Biden administration's broadband policy agenda, Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] has faced two Senate hearings that examined her social media activity and her recusals from key FCC business items.

Kansas Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland announced that Jade Piros de Carvalho will serve as the new Director of the Office of Broadband Development. Jade Piros de Carvalho is a seasoned broadband executive with experience in government affairs, community relations, business development and marketing for the Kansas-based rural broadband provider, IdeaTek. Along with managing advocacy efforts for broadband expansion policy, Piros de Carvalho also spearheaded digital equity efforts for the company.

Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA), whose panel controls the fate of any data privacy bill, stated she’s not close to supporting a major proposal recently unveiled by Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate. In addition, she said Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) has said he will not bring the current bill up for a vote in the upper chamber, signaling roadblocks for the push.

A glut of major tech policy bills await action as Congress' summer recess looms — and anything that doesn't pass by then is unlikely to pass at all in a midterm election season. The ambitious tech agenda this Congress started out with 18 months ago is getting squeezed out by other legislative priorities, including gun control, the Jan. 6 investigation, and the economy. Here's what's in the queue:

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government today approved by voice vote its fiscal year 2023 bill. For fiscal year 2023, the bill includes $29.8 billion in funding, an increase of $4.3 billion (17 percent) over fiscal year 2022. The bill provides annual funding for certain federal agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission.

Congress hasn't budged on President Biden's pick for a key tie-breaking Federal Communications Commission seat as the clock ticks down on the chance for a vote.

Dell is working with Dish to create a private 5G wireless network, and needs 12 GHz spectrum – the radio frequency used to carry wireless information for services like TV and radio broadcasting, mobile phones and Wi-Fi to communications systems – in order to launch the network. But there are a few problems Dell and Dish have to figure out first. The Federal Communications Commission will have to decide whether to hand that limited resource over to Dell and Dish to create their network.