House Commerce Committee 2nd Quarter Report

The Commerce Committee pledged to produce legislation that would protect jobs and promote new ones. We pledged to repeal an unpopular, unfair, and unconstitutional health care law and replace it. We pledged to scrutinize onerous regulations emerging from the vast federal bureaucracy and put a check on the Executive Branch. We pledged to conduct rigorous oversight and develop forward-looking legislative solutions in response to the problems we uncovered. We pledged to promote an all-of-the-above energy strategy that would harness America’s vast resources and strengthen our partnerships with trusted allies to create a more secure energy future and the economic growth that goes with it. Six months into the 112th Congress, I am pleased to report that we have reached significant milestones on each of these essential goals.

The Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee responded quickly to high-profile data breaches that put consumers’ private information at risk and imperiled public trust in data security, one of the foundations for e-commerce and 21st century economic growth. Hearings helped identify a series of common-sense reforms that will strengthen data security. Those ideas are being refined and incorporated into legislation that will make long-overdue changes to protect individuals and job creators from the threat of data breach and replace nearly 50 conflicting state security regimes with a single, national approach.

The Communications and Technology Subcommittee promoted promote innovation and assure that federal policy keeps pace with a dynamic and growing technology marketplace. Wireless broadband and U.S. spectrum policy are central to the Committee’s plans to foster job creation and private-sector investment. The Subcommittee held a series of spectrum hearings to inform this national discussion. Spectrum legislation could help create a nationwide public safety network, generate upwards of $20 billion in auction revenue, and generate many times that amount in economic benefit through the direct and indirect creation of wireless broadband-related jobs and commerce. This subcommittee is at the forefront of promoting broadband access for all Americans. American consumers’ ever-increasing demand for mobile broadband services, whether on smartphones or tablets, will require innovative new approaches to free up spectrum for public use.

The Subcommittee also held oversight hearings on the clumsily designed broadband stimulus provisions in the ARRA. Despite being branded as “shovel-ready,” less than $1 billion of the $7 billion in awarded grants have actually been spent and much of that money appears to be poorly targeted. Perhaps an early warning sign, some of the grant money is already being rescinded or returned because of problems with the projects that received awards.
The subcommittee is also advancing a plan to strengthen the integrity of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by codifying best practices to promote transparency and certainty in the regulatory process. We have already held two hearings on FCC process reform, including one on a staff draft of legislative reforms. The legislation is designed to ensure that the public has an adequate opportunity to provide input into FCC decisions, and that when the FCC intervenes in the marketplace it has demonstrated a need and narrowly tailored its regulations. The subcommittee is also working to erase dangerous, costly, or simply unnecessary federal regulations from the rulebooks.