June 20, 2024, 3:52 p.m.
The Senate Commerce Committee has canceled its scheduled markup of the Spectrum and National Security Act due to partisan disagreements, further impeding the administration’s ability to auction off space on the nation’s airwaves.
The markup was most recently scheduled for June 18 after Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell and the Defense Department came to a last-minute agreement on specific spectrum-sharing language in the bill. But on Monday evening, Cantwell canceled the markup, blaming Sen. Ted Cruz, the leading Republican on the committee.
“We had a chance to secure affordable broadband for millions of Americans, but Senator Cruz said ‘no,’” Cantwell said in an emailed statement on Monday evening. “Rather than fixing our internet security issues, creating more broadband competition, and fostering cooperation between defense and commercial users, Senator Cruz, instead, is stoking culture wars.”
Cantwell told reporters Tuesday that Cruz, along with his Republican allies, planned to load the bill down with partisan provisions known as “poison pills,” and that is why she pulled the markup.
Cruz has not yet responded to multiple requests for comment.
Spectrum refers to the radio frequencies used for communication for a wide range of everyday applications, including FM radio, smartphones, and military communications systems. The FCC has long been in charge of regulating non-federal use spectrum, while the National Telecommunications and Information Administration within the Commerce Department regulates federal use.
The portion useful for wireless communication lies between 20 KHz and 300 GHz. As communication technology advanced over the decades, the available spectrum within that range has shrunk significantly, putting strain on the civilian market, which needs more access to spectrum to advance communication technology.
“Right now we're in this stuck spot, where we've reached a point where there just isn't large chunks of spectrum available that can easily be moved around,” said Jonathan Cannon, a policy counsel in technology and innovation at the conservative R Street Institute. “A lot of the spectrum out there that especially the commercial users are hoping to utilize are currently utilized by DOD.”
That strain was magnified when in 2013 the FCC lost its authority to auction off available spectrum.
“For three decades, the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to auction the nation’s airwaves has been an indispensable tool for harnessing the promise of new wireless technologies,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement after the auction authority lapsed. “To date, the FCC has held 100 auctions and has raised more than $233 billion in revenues and unlocked extraordinary benefits for the American people. It is my hope that the FCC’s auction authority is restored quickly so that this important program is once again able to produce results for consumers and the economy.”
The Spectrum and National Security Act would renew the FCC’s auction authority, opening up more spectrum to the commercial marketplace while also encouraging the DOD to release more spectrum for commercial uses.
Last week, Cantwell and the DOD agreed on changes in the bill to clarify its language around dynamic spectrum sharing, which allows multiple users on the same spectrum without interference, and on interagency coordination to ensure the government is using spectrum efficiently.
“With these specific changes, we believe this legislation will protect our national security while also ensuring American economic competitiveness and leadership in global spectrum policy,” read a combined statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Defense secretary, and the Commerce secretary.
Cannon said that the agreement was a good sign for Cantwell’s bill, noting that the bill’s soft language which the DOD agreed to does not force the military to actually give up the spectrum it is holding onto.
“DOD buy-in is the only way any piece of legislation is going to move,” he said. Nothing in the bill, he said, “really pushes DOD to do anything, which I think, is why they’re supportive."
In Cantwell’s bill, proceeds from the FCC auction would be earmarked for other federal programs, with more than $3 billion set to fund the Rip and Replace program that removes Chinese telecommunication equipment from the U.S., and another $7 billion for the Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP.
The ACP started as an emergency COVID-19 relief program that provided discounts for up to $30 per month for internet services for most households at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Those on tribal lands were eligible for $75 per month. Ultimately 23 million homes used the program after President Biden moved to make it more permanent in his infrastructure bill.
However, the ACP was funded only through April 2024, and it was shuttered in early June when it finally ran out of cash. Lawmakers have since been scrambling to get it included in any bill that has a chance to become law.
The ACP, along with the earmarked spending, might have contributed to the Republican revolt.
Cruz, along with Senate Republican Whip John Thune, have their own bill, the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2024, to renew the FCC’s spectrum-auction authority.
The GOP bill would require the FCC to make more spectrum available at auction than Cantwell’s bill would, but a big difference is that it comes with no specific earmarks for the money raised at the FCC spectrum auctions.
Both Thune and Cruz have voiced skepticism about the ACP, and in December they sent a letter to the FCC questioning the agency's management of the broadband program.
“The Biden administration’s reckless spending spree has left America’s current fiscal situation in a state of crisis, with gross debt at nearly $34 trillion. It is incumbent on lawmakers to protect taxpayers and make funding decisions based on clear evidence,” the letter said.
On Tuesday, Cantwell took to the Senate floor to chastise her Republican colleagues and defend her spectrum bill.
“Blocking the committee progress will have serious consequences,” she said. “I hope my colleagues will stop with obstructing and get back to negotiating on important legislation that will deliver these national security priorities and help Americans continue to have access to something as essential as affordable broadband.”
