May 2011

Lawmakers are laying the groundwork for a showdown between the chambers on the question of how to build a communications network for police and firefighters to talk to one another, as was recommended by the 9/11 Commission Report in 2004. After months of politicking on the issue, it's clear that the battle won't be fought along party lines but rather in a standoff between the House and Senate.

The top House Commerce Committee Democrat, Rep Henry Waxman (D-CA), revealed during a subcommittee hearing that he wants to team up with Republican committee members to create a House proposal. That means Democrats are just as divided on this issue as Republicans, who have been feuding over it for months.

Rep Waxman said in his opening statement: "Last month, I approached Chairman [Fred] Upton [R-MI] and Chairman [Greg] Walden [R-OR] and suggested that we emulate our Senate counterparts and work together on a bipartisan House bill that would provide for a nation-wide public safety network and make new spectrum available through incentive auctions. I hope they will take us up on this offer."

Rep Waxman was presumed to favor the auction of a valuable block of spectrum to commercial providers, rather than the reallocation of that block to public-safety agencies. He paired up with Republicans to draft a bill accomplishing that last year. But after saying little in public on the issue since his party assumed the minority, it was unclear whether Rep Waxman and a handful of other Commerce Committee Democrats would lend their support to a Senate proposal in order to help isolate the committee's Republicans, who favor a less expensive option.

Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and everyone else in the hearing room regardless of party affiliation were in agreement that first responders needed such a network, but the disagreement was over how to do it and how to pay for it.

A Clearwire investor asked interim Chief Executive Officer John Stanton to reexamine a sale of spectrum holdings to help boost the stock price and the wireless service provider’s value to an acquirer. A sale of the rights to wireless frequencies that carry voice and data signals will help establish a higher value for Clearwire’s assets and free up cash, New York-based Pardus Capital Management said in a letter to Stanton and the board. This month, Stanton ruled out selling the spectrum in 2011 after considering offers. Pardus said Sprint Nextel, which owns more than half of Clearwire, may be preventing sale of the spectrum to hold down the company’s stock price and make a buyout easier later.

“Clearwire manages its business in the best interests of all of the company’s shareholders,” Mike DiGioia, a spokesman for Clearwire, said. “We have received Pardus’ inquiry, however, it is against our policy for us to discuss shareholder interactions publicly.”

The food and advertising industries are pushing back against an Obama Administration proposal that calls for food makers to voluntarily limit the way they market sugary cereals, salty snacks and other foods to children and teens.

From yogurt makers to candy manufacturers, they lined up to tell regulators that the first-ever proposed guidelines for marketing to children would not stop the childhood obesity problem but would certainly hurt their businesses and abridge their right to free speech. The guidelines, ordered by Congress and written by a team from the Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Agriculture Department, ignited a debate about the role of marketing in soaring obesity rates among children. “I can't imagine any mom in America who thinks stripping tigers and toucans off cereal boxes will do anything to reduce obesity,” said Scott Faber, a vice president at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents food makers and retailers. But public interest groups and health experts say tighter controls on advertising will make a difference. “It’s clear that food marketing to children is a big factor,” said Daniel Levy of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Rep Tom Graves (R-GA) has written Federal Communications commission Chairman Julius Genachowski urging the FCC to release information about its investigation of Google's so-called "Wi-Spy" breach.

Rep Graves said he is concerned the FCC "has not yet shared any of the facts of this case with Congress." He urged Chairman Genachowski "to complete a full review expeditiously and provide a thorough report. This information will allow Congress to determine whether [legislative] action is necessary to prevent such a breach of private information in the future."