Latino voters still prefer Democrats over Republicans to control Congress, and by a wide margin — 54% to 33% — but that is down significantly over the last few polls conducted by NBC News and co-owned Telemundo.

Another troubling sign for Democrats is that the top issue facing the country according to those Latino voters is the cost of living, while the poll found that a majority of Latino voters — 54% — disapprove of the way the top Democrat — President Joe Biden — is handling the economy, with 38% saying they thought Republicans in general did a better job of handling the economy than Democrats.

While Latino voters preferred Democratic control by 21 percentage points, that was down from 26 points in 2020, 34 points in 2018 and 38 points in 2016.

Following the economy, the issues most important to Latino voters polled were "threats to democracy" and jobs.

Latino voters gave Democrats higher marks than Republicans promoting tolerance and respect, handling the abortion issue and having the right approach to gun laws. ■

Senate Democrats are attempting to add their distance learning E-Rate funding bill to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) have proposed their Emergency Educational Connections Act as an amendment on the bill. 

The bill would ensure that all K-12 students have access to "adequate" home broadband connectivity and devices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dems signaled last month they would be introducing the bill, the Senate version of a bill introduced by Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), but would double Chen's $2 billion allocation for the FCC's E-Rate schools and libraries broadband subsidy program to $4 billion because the pandemic could extend far longer than the current academic year, they said.

“We cannot allow the ‘homework gap’ to become a larger ‘learning gap’ during the coronavirus pandemic,” the Senators said in a joint statement. “Without immediate action by Congress and $4 billion in E-Rate funding, millions of students – especially those of low-income families, immigrants, communities of color and rural areas – are at risk of being left behind. We plan to seek any legislative vehicle available to us to make our proposal the law, which will take important strides towards ensuring that all students in America have the connectivity they need to continue their education online during the current crisis.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been calling on Congress to fund distance learning as they did with telehealth. He has said the FCC's hands are tied in terms of using E-rate broadband subsidies for learning-from-home broadband because the subsidy program is statutorily tied to "classrooms."

He has also pointed out that there is about $16 billion in CARES Act funding for states and localities that could be used for distance learning from home. 

The E-Rate is a Universal Service Fund subsidy for advanced telecommunications for schools and libraries.

The bill would clarify that the broadband billions could be used for equipment and service at "locations other than the school."

In the event that FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn decides not to stay on past the end of her tenure -- or if the president or congressional Democrats decide to nominate someone else -- plenty of names are being floated for the job. The list of potential FCC nominees, which one Capitol Hill source said is the most definitive list around, includes the following:

Gigi Sohn: A former top aide to FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, Sohn is former head of Public Knowledge and a strong proponent for Title II-based Open Internet regulations, though she was also at the table — with Public Knowledge — for the previous non-Title II-based open internet regulations under then-chairman Julius Genachowski.

Sohn was a familiar face on Capitol Hill as a witness on various issues during her time atop Public Knowledge. A Hill source said Sohn seemed to be getting a lot of buzz for the post, though it usually requires Senate backing and there are other candidates with closer ties.

Danny Sepulveda: His resume includes deputy assistant secretary of State and U.S. coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy in the Obama administration — Politico tagged him “ambassador to the internet” — and before that, senior adviser to then-senator and future Secretary of State John Kerry (one of those important ties, so long as Kerry still has some pull) and an aide to then-Sen. Barack Obama. He also worked with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and for the National Council of La Raza.

Tim Wu: If he does not get the open Democratic seat on the Federal Trade Commission — an industry source said another name has been floated for that post — he is in the mix for a Clyburn seat.

Wu, a professor at Columbia University, coined “network neutrality,” a term that does not ring pleasantly in the ears of most Republicans, at least when paired with Title II. But he has also suggested the government should take a close look at Google’s search activities, given what he said was “new evidence that it has been favoring its own content in local search.”

Joseph Wender: Wender is senior policy adviser to Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and a staffer since 2009. As such, Wender has been at the senator’s side, and ear, through his very public fights for net neutrality, broadband privacy, set-top box rules, children’s TV rules and virtually all the major communications policy issues over that time. One Democratic source said Wender was one to watch, particularly if Markey gets Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and progressives on board, which would be a “formidable combination.”

Roger Sherman: Sherman, probably a long shot, is the former FCC Wireline Bureau Chief and was an aide to then-Sen. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.). Waxman was chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee. Sherman is a former Democratic counsel to the House Energy & Commerce Committee, under Rep. Walden’s predecessor, Fred Upton (R-Mich.), and staff director of the Communications Subcommittee. His resume also includes a stint as an attorney at Sprint and he was with Wiley Rein, the law firm that has a reputation as something of a training ground for high FCC posts (the “Wiley” is Dick Wiley, former FCC chair), and sometimes welcoming them back again.

Chanelle Hardy: A list of potential additions to the government would hardly be complete without at least one Google connection. Hardy is currently the Strategic Outreach and External Partnerships director for the search giant. But even more germane, before that post she was Clyburn’s chief of staff.

Hardy is the former head of the National Urban League’s Washington bureau and was chief of staff to then-Rep. Artur Davis — a Democrat who switched to Republican, then switched back again — as well as serving as a staff attorney at the Federal Trade Commission.

A group of senate Democrats, including some of the Hill's loudest critics of FCC chair Ajit Pai's effort to roll back Title II, have asked the FBI to investigate the multiple distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks the agency said it suffered and which affected its online comment system.

Related: FCC CIO Says Agency Hit by DDoS Attack

“This particular attack may have denied the American people the opportunity to contribute to what is supposed to be a fair and transparent process, which in turn may call into question the integrity of the FCC’s rulemaking proceedings,” the senators wrote to acting FBI director Andrew McCabe. “We request that you update us on the status of the FBI’s investigation and brief us on this matter.”

The alleged attack appeared to be in connection with the net-neutrality proceeding. Signing the letter were Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), ranking member of the Senate Communications Subcommittee; Al Franken (D-Minn.); Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.); Ed Markey (D-Mass.); and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Markey and Wyden have been leaders in the effort to preserve Title II.

Elsewhere, Fight for the Future also has asked for an investigation and documentation of the attack, and some in Congress have also asked the FCC for information about them, but the senators who signed the letter said the FBI needs to get involved given the seriousness of any cyberattack.

They asked the FBI to brief them "on this matter" by June 23.

It is the longest of long shots, but Democratic Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) and Mike Capuano (D-Mass.) have launched a petition on Whitehouse.gov calling on the president to veto S.J. Res. 34, the Congressional Review Act resolution that that repealed the FCC's broadband privacy rules.

The president is widely expected to sign the resolution and repeal the regulations.

The resolution narrowly passed both the Senate (last week) and the House (Tuesday) and is headed to the President's desk, although the Dems are hoping to stay the President's pen hand.

At press time, the petition had 120 signatures toward the 100,000 it needs to get a response from the White House, though it is unclear whether the new president is hewing to such a schedule. The resolution will likely be signed by then regardless.

The crux of the petition is "Don't let Internet providers spy and sell our online data. Please keep the FCC's Privacy Rules."

“This bill has been rushed through both the House and Senate at breakneck speed with one clear goal – to get it signed into law before the American People know about it,” Doyle said after launching the petition. Doyle managed the floor debate on the Democratic side March 28 before the Republicans voted 215-205 to roll back the rules, with 15 Republicans breaking ranks to vote against it.

“Americans do not want their Internet browsing history and sensitive personal information used by their ISP without their knowledge for advertising or any other purposes,” Capuano said. “I cannot imagine why anyone would support this.”

Capuano was arguably the loudest critic, bellowing his dissent and suggesting he didn't want ISPs sharing his underwear size if bought a pair online.

The CRA overturns rules approved by a divided FCC Oct. 27 that required ISPs to get subscribers' permission to share Web browser and app use info and impose data security and breach notification requirements.

Looking to trump the president's trillion-dollar infrastructure spending plans, Hill Democrats Tuesday (Jan. 24) unveiled their own plan, which calls for spending big bucks to expand "high-speed and affordable broadband" in both unserved and "underserved" areas, including funding for both middle mile (backbone) and last-mile wired and wireless deployment

That allocation was not surprising given the importance of broadband deployment to the previous Democratic administration.

The Democratic plan calls for a $20 billion investment, which the Dems say would result in 260,000 new jobs. 

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), ranking member on the Senate Commerce Committee, was a key co-sponsor of the spending plan, which included the following: "To close the rural-urban divide, and to push toward ubiquitous access to high-speed broadband, we will invest $20 billion to fund the build out of high-speed broadband in unserved and underserved areas. This funding will be available to projects currently eligible under programs at both the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We also propose expanding the programs to enable grant recipients to use grant funds to deploy various types of infrastructure capable of offering, middle-mile, last-mile wired and wireless broadband access, and adding evaluation criteria in the awards process to ensure that the funding goes to the most effective and efficient uses. Finally, we propose ensuring additional funding is available to help upgrade our nation’s aging 9-1-1 system and other critical infrastructure technology."

The Commerce and Agriculture departments also received billions in broadband funds as part of the BTOP stimulus plan under President Obama.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association applauded the plan and its backers, which also include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). The CCIA also pointed out that both FCC chairman Ajit Pai and President Trump support infrastructure buildouts.

RELATED: Pai Prioritizes Closing Digital Divide

Internet buildout is an issue that has bipartisan support on Capitol Hill and in the executive branch. Pai has expressed support for the idea in recent months, and President Trump made infrastructure improvements a major campaign issue.

“Our economy depends on connectivity, and we need higher speeds and stronger broadband networks to remain competitive," said CCIA president Ed Black. "Broadband buildout done properly would create a wave of jobs and leave better access to high speed broadband for more citizens in its wake. Broadband buildout is an issue that does have and should have broad, bipartisan support. We appreciate the steps Democrats and Republicans are now taking to make their shared goals a reality for the thousands of citizens who need high speed internet access and the jobs that would bring.”

WASHINGTON — Federal Communications Commisson chairman Tom Wheeler took some heat from both sides of the aisle — including his fellow Democrats — in a sometimes tense and contentious oversight hearing in the House Communications Subcommittee on Tuesday (March 22).

The almost three-hour hearing took on some hot-button issues, including the FCC’s set-top proposal and the chairman’s lack of enthusiasm for an inquiry into political ad disclosure rules.

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), who has pushed the FCC to revisit its definition of those disclosures, including via legislation, was not happy.

He said he was not satisfied with Wheeler's response to his letter on the subject — which he suggested was more like a “thanks for your input” answer — and said he doubted the chairman would think such an answer was sufficient.

Yarmuth said he wasn’t expecting the FCC to immediately start enhancing its disclosure requirements, but expected more than this.

He did not ask Wheeler why the chairman had not opened an inquiry, using his time to simply express his displeasure and asked that the FCC take action and that FCC staffers be made available so he could discuss with them their theory of the “editorial control” of an ad that triggered disclosure.

The FCC has signaled that it is relying on a historic interpretation of editorial control in requiring disclosure of the a political action committee’s officers but not the underlying funders, Yarmuth said. As a former editor, Yarmuth added, he knows who has the real control behind such groups, which he labeled, archly, “Americans for Puppies and Kittens” and other similar appellations.

He called the “editorial control” definition a “useless standard” and one that perpetuated the deception of the American public.

On the set-top proposal, Wheeler was pressed by Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) and G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) as to how the proposal would affect diverse content providers, suggesting it could impact them adversely. Butterfield went so far as to suggest that — at least to some of the diversity groups he cited — it could mean a new form of digital redlining.

Clarke said she had commissioned a Congressional Research Service study on the set-top proposal’s potential impact of the set-top proposal on diverse programmers and communities, and asked Wheeler if he would be willing to delay action on the proposal until it was completed.

Wheeler said he was willing to work with the committee but did not commit to any delay, saying he did not know how long such a delay would be.

Even Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) got a little snappy with Wheeler as she was trying to defend him against assertions by Republican commissioners that they were denied the ability to talk about items before the commission, even as the chairman was blogging and summarizing those items for outside stakeholders, the press and the public.

Democratic Sens. Patrick Leahy (Vt.), Ron Wyden (Ore.), Al Franken (Minn.), and Cory Booker (N.J.) are not on board with a Republican-backed network neutrality bill that will be the subject of hearings in the House and Senate on Wednesday.

The bill would prevent online blocking, discrimination and paid prioritization, its backers point out, all things many Democrats favor. But it would also limit the FCC's authority under Sec. 706 of the Telecommunications Act, which the FCC uses to buttress regulatory moves to promote broadband deployment and adoption.

The bill is backed by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chair of the House Energy & Commcerce Committee, who had billed it as potentially bipartisan.

The Democratic senators took the opportunity to welcome the Republicans into the pro-net neutrality protection fold, but not with the bill they have proposed.

“Senator Thune and the Republicans are right to acknowledge what nearly 4 million Americans have said in their comments to the FCC in support of net neutrality rules – that open Internet rules are critical to free speech and innovation," they said in a joint statement. "We appreciate that the Republican bill also recognizes that net neutrality principles should apply regardless of the technology used to connect to the Internet. We stand ready and willing to work with our Republican colleagues, but unfortunately, the bill as currently drafted would dramatically undermine the FCC’s vital role in protecting consumers and small businesses online by limiting its enforcement and rulemaking authorities in this critically important area.  Further, the Republican bill would severely curtail the FCC’s ability to promote the deployment of broadband service.  The FCC has the necessary authority to enact the open Internet rules that millions of Americans have called for and that Republicans finally support. The Commission should act without delay.”

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler has said that he plans to vote on new rules, likely reclassifying broadband access under Title II, at the Feb. 26 meeting, which means circulating his proposal to the other commissioners on Feb. 5, three weeks before the meeting, as is customary.

WASHINGTON — Republicans have taken back the Senate for the first time since George W. Bush was president, but not with the two-thirds majority that would allow them to block the FCC’s reimposition of network-neutrality rules.

Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler, a Democrat, will continue to set the agency’s agenda, but there will almost certainly be more pushback from the Hill.

“The FCC is an independent agency and [Wheeler] is an aggressive guy, so he’ll do what he thinks is best,” said a top communications lawyer who asked not to be named.

The Republicans will be picking the chairmen on Senate committees overseeing communications, setting a more deregulatory agenda, scheduling hearings and able to launch investigations, issue subpoenas and otherwise make it tougher on policies and agencies they disagree with.

It was unclear whether the total Senate seat count for the GOP would be 53 or 54. That will be determined by a run-off in Louisiana, where the Republican, Bill Cassidy, is predicted to oust incumbent Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu. That will mean even more political ad money spent in the run-up to the runoff next month.

The Republicans held the House, and picked up at least a dozen seats (“GOP Ready to Lead Victory 2014” T-shirts were being hawked on the RNC Web site). Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R- Mich.), Communications Subcommittee chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and ranking Communications Subcommittee member Anna Eshoo (DCalif.), all won re-election handily. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, is retiring.

Fresh from those convincing victories in their respective House races, Upton and Walden outlined their priorities for the new Congress, which includes beginning the rewrite of telecommunications law, though again that would need to be legislation that President Obama would not veto, assuming it passed before he exits in 2016.

Not returning is Rep. Terry Lee (R-Neb.) a prominent member of the House Communications Subcommittee. He lost to Democrat Brad Ashford. His seat was thought to be in danger before the election, but it was one of the few setbacks for the Republicans.

On the Senate side, change and lots of it is in the offing. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) is retiring and his seat was won by Republican Shelley Moore Capito, one of the pickups that helped the GOP take the Senate. Communications Subcommittee chairman Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) was also defeated by Republican Tom Cotton, yet another of those key seat switches.

Pryor and Rockefeller had pushed for retransmission-consent reform as part of the satellite reauthorization bill, though ultimately recognizing that would hold up the must-pass measure.

Rockefeller’s retirement and Pryor’s defeat also takes two senators off the committee who were focused on content issues, such as media violence.

With Rockefeller and Pryor gone, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) could become a more prominent figure on the Commerce Committee. He is former chair of the House Communications (formerly Telecommunications) Subcommittee, and has been among the more active legislators on communications issues, including network-neutrality regulations — he favors common-carrier regulations based on Title II of the Telecommunications Act — media consolidation and online privacy.

Open Internet rules will continue to have another strong champion in Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), though no longer from the bully pulpit of a chairmanship.

Franken won far more handily than last time around. According to the Minnesota unofficial returns, the Saturday Night Live writer-turned-politican won by about 200,000 votes. In 2008, after months-long recounts and a state Supreme Court decision, Franken won by 312 votes.

Tale of the Tape in Senate Commerce

Who’s in and out following the midterm elections:

Retired: Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.).

Lost: Communications Subcommittee chairman Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)

Undetermined: Mark Begich (D-Alaska) *

Won: Cory Booker (D-N.J.)

Won: Tim Scott (R-S.C.) **

Won: Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)

Won: Ed Markey (D-Mass.)

Won: Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)

* Begich was behind by a little over 8,000 votes but had not conceded at press time with absentee ballots still to be counted.

** First black senator elected from the South since reconstruction.

Cable saw strong a turnout among political campaign-ad buyers this midterm election season, helped by numerous close races for governor and senator and by candidates using selected cable networks, rather than just by buying ads on local newscasts, industry ad sellers said.

While total political-ad spending is lower when there’s no presidential election, cable is likely to bank as much in 2014 in ads as it did during the 2012 season, Dan Sinagoga, vice president of political advertising at Comcast Spotlight, the top cable company’s ad-sales division, said.

That’s been largely at the expense of local broadcasters, according to Sinagoga. He said the cable industry’s share of dollars spent on political ads will hit about 30% this cycle, continuing a trend that saw it take more than 20% in 2012.

Comcast also added more possible commercial minutes to the mix this time around by freeing up some of the “avails” — the 2 minutes per hour typically allotted to local ads — that would normally go to promoting its triple play, high-speed Internet or other services. “It will help us keep easily five to eight million additional dollars that we probably wouldn’t have been able to fit traditionally,” Sinagoga said.

Headed into this non-presidential election cycle, advertising tracker Borrell Associates had predicted cable networks would do $719.3 million in political ads. That would be 46% more than in the last midterm races, in 2010 ($492.7 million).

Tim Kay, director of political strategy at cable operator-owned NCC Media, cited Kantar Media’s forecast of $600 million to $800 million in local cable ad sales and said, “We’re definitely on the latter part of that number,” or above $700 million, headed into Election Day on Tuesday (Nov 4).

“What’s interesting is, we’ve run more commercials, as of two weeks ago, than in all of 2012,” he said.

Kay said most ads are still flowing to the big three favorites of Fox News Channel, CNN and ESPN. “But we’re seeing a lot of non-traditional networks pop up, such as TV Land and Bravo,” he added.

NCC bought a schedule of ads from CNN in October, which helped expand the inventory beyond the local-avail minutes. Kay would not reveal sales specifics but he said the number of political ads NCC placed on CNN were up from both 2012 and 2010.

Sports events have been big among political buyers, Kay said, especially National Football League games.

Sinagoga said Comcast saw gains on non-traditional political-ad outlets such as Animal Planet and Oxygen. “One of our hottest networks this year has been Hallmark [Channel], and that was never the case leading into 2012.”

As for hot markets, NCC’s Kay said noticeable spikes have come in Omaha, Neb., due to the state’s race for governor; in Colorado, with close contests for governor and U.S. senator; and in North Carolina, which has a tightly-contested U.S. Senate race.

Colorado, Texas (especially during this year’s primary elections), Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Arkansas were all significant for Comcast this year, Sinagoga said.

Comcast also added an element to the on-demand programming mix this time by dynamically inserting advertising into programs addressed to individual households, Sinagoga said. That was a first step toward what the company expects will be household address-ability across its national footprint by the time the 2016 campaigns roll around. That “niche” product did well in Virginia, Florida, New Hampshire and Colorado, he said, and “is going to be a seven-figure addition to our overall pie.”