US House of Representatives Commerce Committee

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) announced Mike Bloomquist, currently the committee’s Deputy Staff Director, will be named Staff Director effective immediately.  The committee’s previous Staff Director Ray Baum passed away Feb 9 after a years-long battle with cancer.

Bipartisan legislation to improve rural call completion passed the US House of Representatives and now heads to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature. The Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act will direct the Federal Communications Commission to require providers that transmit voice calls to register with the agency and establish quality standards for transmitting voice calls.

House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chair Leonard Lance (R-NJ) is joining subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Doyle (D-PA) in introducing bipartisan legislation that will help bring 5G wireless service closer to reality and help close the digital divide.  The "Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum", or AIRWAVES Act, will encourage the federal government to free up more spectrum for commercial licensed and unlicensed use.  More spectrum will improve data service from all providers and help close geographic gaps in coverage.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) led a letter signed by over 100 Republican Reps to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the upcoming vote restoring Internet freedom.

The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep Greg Walden (R-OR), has scheduled a hearing for June 11, 2014. The hearing is entitled “Media Ownership in the 21st Century.”

Witnesses to be announced.

Members will examine the media ownership landscape as it continues to evolve in the digital age. The subcommittee is expected to discuss the Federal Communications Commission’s inaction on the statutorily required 2010 quadrennial review of the media ownership rules as well as the continued relevance of the media ownership regulatory framework in general. Further, members will explore the commission’s decision to forge ahead with new rules on joint sales agreements (JSAs) and other media ownership changes without the completed quadrennial review.

“As the communications and technology sectors continue to innovate, it is imperative that our laws that govern media ownership evolve,” said Rep Walden. “I look forward to a spirited discussion of the media ownership landscape and expect it to inform the work we do on our update of the Communications Act.”