Republican leaders of the House Energy & Commerce Committee have scheduled an FCC oversight hearing for next week (June 21) and said chair Jessica Rosenworcel and the other three commissioners are expected to testify.

The panel has primary oversight of the Federal Communications Commission, with the House Judiciary Committee weighing in on merger and antitrust issues.

The committee “has a responsibility to the American people to ensure the agency is being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and faithfully following Congressional intent,” committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee chair Bob Latta (R-Ohio) said.

Look for Republicans to focus some of their questioning on the “waste, fraud and abuse” they are always looking out for, given the billions of dollars in broadband subsidy money the Biden administration is giving out through various programs, as well as the FCC’s historic role in overseeing billions of dollars in Universal Service Fund advanced communications subsidies.

If past is prologue, Democrats are likely to point to the current political tie on the commission (2-2), ask how well the FCC is functioning without the Democratic majority that should have followed the 2020 presidential election and urge swift confirmation of nominee Anna Gomez to fill that vacant third Democratic seat.

Other issues expected to get bipartisan questioning are: (1) broadband mapping — the FCC has recently released its latest iteration of what it says is more accurate mapping of where high-speed broadband is and isn't; (2) robocalls; (3) emergency information; and (4) whether Big Tech edge providers should contribute to the Universal Service Fund broadband subsidies, given that broadband access is central to their business model.

The House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Republican leadership has scheduled the latest Big Tech beating on Capitol Hill and they have signaled it will be filled with Republican red-meat issues.

The official beating will commence March 28 at 10:30 a.m., but it has already begun.

Unlike a recent Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee hearing that had bipartisan backing, the House hearing notice is filled with partisan shots.

Also Read: Legislator Proposes Social Media Ban

In a joint statement, House E&C chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Communications Subcommittee chair Bob Latta (R-Ohio) said that the Biden admininstration was colluding with Big Tech and “corrput government officials” to ”to silence voices who dare to question the Left's narrative.”

There was no witness list for the hearing, which was labeled "Preserving Free Speech and Reining in Big Tech Censorship," but McMorris and Latta teased the lineup, saying it would include "several people who’ve been silenced by Big Tech."

That will likely not include former President Donald Trump, though he has opined that his ban from Twitter and Facebook — over issues of disinformation about the election and potential hate speech — was censorship in the sheep’s clothing of content moderation by Big Tech in service of the Democrats’ agenda and with the collusion of the media. ▪️

House Energy & Commerce Committee chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) said he plans an Oct. 6 hearing on strengthening communications networks, given consumers’ reliance on them for health care, work, news, entertainment and connecting with loved ones.

Accessibility and affordability of those networks are a priority of the committee, as is cybersecurity.

Also Read: House E&C Extends Suspect Tech Ban to Non-Subsidized Nets

“Next week, we will consider several bills designed to advance that mission,” Pallone and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), the Technology Subcommittee chairman, said in a joint statement. “We look forward to considering these bills and working together on common-sense policies that enable these networks to meet consumers’ needs, now and into the future.”

One way Congress has been promoting future-proof networks is to disallow technology that represents a threat to national security to remain in U.S. networks, primarily by directing the FCC to deny broadband subsidy funding to suppliers of suspect technology.

Another is to emphasize that competition and affordability should be part of the definition of universal access to broadband networks, both wired and wireless.

The House Energy & Commerce Committee will hold a hearing Feb. 17 titled "Connecting America: Broadband Solutions to Pandemic Problems."

Also Read: Reps. Ask POTUS to Prioritize Rural Broadband

It will come amid a flurry of activity on the broadband funding front in D.C., including billions of dollars more in COVID-19 relief aid and the planned reintroduction of a bill to spend $100 billion to get everybody connected to broadband, particularly closing the rural digital divide.

Also Read: Rep. Clyburn Signals Return of Broadband for All Bill

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the digital divide and compounded problems for those who don’t have reliable home internet service,” said House E&C Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Communications Subcommittee Mike Doyle 9D-Pa.). “Families everywhere are depending on the internet to telework, attend tele-health appointments, and keep their kids learning in virtual classrooms. Our economy – and our children’s educations – would fall apart without it. We look forward to discussing what progress has been made to bridge the digital divide so far, and what work must still be done to make internet access more affordable during this pandemic. We must ensure that it is treated as a necessity for all and not a privilege for the few.”

No word on who will be the witnesses.

House Energy & Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) has named the Republican members for the Communications & Technology Subcommittee.

Ranking member of the Subcommittee will continue to be Bob Latta (Ohio).

Members in addition to Latta will be Rep. Steve Scalise (La.), Rep. Brett Guthrie (Ky.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis (Fla.), Rep. Bill Johnson (Ohio), Rep. Billy Long (Mo.), Rep. Richard Hudson (N.C.), Rep. Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), Rep. Tim Walberg (Mich.), Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (Ga.), Rep. Jeff Duncan (S.C.), Rep. John Curtis (Utah) and Rep. Rodgers (Wash.) (Ex officio).

New to the subcommittee are Guthrie, Hudson, Mullin, Carter, Duncan and Curtis.

"Our team is also ready to vigorously defend free speech, stop the lurch toward socialized healthcare, protect life, promote all-of-the-above energy solutions, and beat China in the emerging technologies race," said Rodgers of all the subcommittee Republicans named Tuesday (Jan. 21).

Tech companies have gotten a high five (make that a "high 5G") for launching a group advocating for supply chain security. 

Telecom and tech companies said this week they are getting together to lobby the government for policies that promote a diverse, secure and interoperable 5G supply chain.  

Related: FCC Seeks Comment on Excluding Suspect Foreign Tech 

In response, House Energy & Commerce Committee Republicans issued a statement of support Thursday (May 7). 

"This commitment by the private sector to advance the same objectives shows the widespread priority to secure our domestic and global communications supply chain, and it’s a great step forward to encourage our allies to follow suit." 

The same objectives are "ensuring American leadership on the world stage, holding bad actors accountable, and stopping supply chain threats," they said.  

The Republicans also put in a plug for Congress' own bipartisan 5G supply chain security legislation, the Utilizing Strategic Allied (USA) Telecommunications Act of 2020.

The bill would authorize up to $750 million for a Department of Commerce-administered program--in consultation with the FCC and other agencies--to speed deployment and use of open interfaced, standards-based, interoperable 5G networks employing trusted suppliers.

David Goldman, chief telecom counsel for the House Energy & Commerce Committee's Democrats, is exiting the committee to take a job in private industry.

E&C ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) announced Goldman's exit at a hearing on supply-chain integrity Wednesday (May 16).

Pallone called it a bittersweet announcement and said Goldman had been an invaluable part of the committee's team, citing his critical expertise and strategic guidance on efforts including helping speed through the RAY BAUM's Act, which among other things freed up more money for the broadcast incentive auction.

Committee chairman Marsha Blackburn also gave Goldman a shout-out for a job well done, and there was a round of applause from the committee, Republican and Democrat.

Goldman was the senior legal adviser to FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel when he exited the FCC in 2015 to join the committee.

Goldman joined Rosenworcel’s office from the Senate Commerce Committee, where he was communications, tech and internet counsel.

Before that he held various posts at the FCC, including a role in the office of former chairman Julius Genachowski and as a policy adviser to the chief of the Wireless Bureau.

WASHINGTON — It’s been like rush hour inside the Beltway as internet service providers get in what they hope are their parting shots at Title II classification, and defenders of the common carrier-based rules try to warn of impending doom if the reclassification is reclassified back to Title I.

Meanwhile, Hill Republicans continue to try to push for bipartisan legislation, which is the only kind that will fly in the Senate, where the real action is likely to take place. Here are five key takeaways from that rush of activity.

Closing Time: The Federal Communications Commission’s deadline for filing comments passed Aug. 30, with almost 22 million comments filed since the docket opened July 3. The FCC’s unwillingness to expurgate the comments led to more four-letter words being offered for public consumption by the FCC than would be found in a decade’s worth of indecency complaints against broadcasters.

And while the docket is officially closed, the FCC will continue to accept input. It is just that the late comments will not be included in the official record upon which the FCC is supposed to base its decision.

Numbers Game: A new analysis filed with the FCC last week found that of those almost 22 million comments, the vast majority were either duplicates or of dubious origin. The analysis, which was conducted by analytics company Emprata for the ISP-backed group Broadband for America, found that of the 21.766 million comments assessed, more than 20.684 million “appear to be artificial, international filings, form letters and duplicative submissions.”

Apple Backs Core ’Net Protections: In Apple’s first public position on the issue — it has kept its net-neutrality cards close to the vest — the company signaled it was open to considering a non-Title II path as long as it was a legally sustainable route to the same protections the current rules provide.

“Apple remains open to alternative sources of legal authority, but only if they provide for strong, enforceable and legally sustainable protections, like those in place today,” the company said, according to a copy of the filing, billed as its first FCC filing in the proceeding.

Those protections currently in place are no blocking, throttling or paid prioritization, which some ISPs have argued can be legally sustained using non-Title II authority, and Maureen Ohlhausen, the Federal Trade Commission’s acting chair, argued can be enforced by the agency on a case-by-case basis. Net-neutrality activists say no way. Apple’s support of no paid “fast lanes” coincides with its heavying up in the online video business.

FTC to the Rescue: Ohlhausen said last week that the agency has the muscle to protect against harmful online conduct. In an op-ed in The Hill newspaper, Ohlhausen said that if the FCC repeals what she called heavy-handed net-neutrality regulation, the FTC would be there to pursue harmful conduct on a case-by-case basis, along with state attorneys general and private plaintiffs — the FTC’s power is to file suit against companies it concludes have broken their pledges.

She said a case-by-case approach “better protects consumers and promotes innovation because it focuses agency resources on actual consumer injury and doesn’t require regulators to predict the future.”

View From the Hill: The House Energy & Commerce Committee postponed its planned Sept. 7 hearing on net neutrality — “indefinitely,” suggested one source — and the prospects for congressional action remain cloudy at best.

Republicans are trying to get both sides together on a bill, but sources said Democrats have not been part of those talks and aren’t feeling the bipartisan love. A bipartisan House bill is needed to avoid being stymied in the Senate, where a single senator — like, say, Title II cheerleader Ed Markey (D-Mass.) — could hold it up.

The House hearing is said to have been postponed because neither ISPs nor edge providers wanted to send their CEOs, which had been the request from committee chair Greg Walden (R-Ore.), instead sending their association heads to make their respective pitches.

House Energy & Commerce Committee Democrats have introduced a quintet of tech-related, particularly broadband tech-related, bills that would, among other things, help displaced workers get broadband for re-training, address the "homework gap," better target broadband subsidies, and boost tribal access.

“Broadband offers more opportunities for more people—whether it’s getting a better education, applying for new jobs, or training for a new career,” said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) ranking member of the committee. "Expanding broadband to places without access attracts new businesses and new opportunities.  At a time when so many Americans are feeling uncertainty in their lives, we have a responsibility to help.  These bills from Democratic members of our committee will provide a better chance for those who need it most.”

That comes as Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has said he plans to focus on closing the digital divide, though Democrats are skeptical given his early moves to rescind Lifeline accreditation from nine companies and a report touting the advances of the low-income broadband subsidy under Pai's predecessor.

The 21st Century Worker Opportunity Act (Debbie Dingell [D-Mich.]) would give workers "displaced by automation" a credit toward broadband service for job retraining and distance learning; The Innovation Corps Act of 2017 would (Doris Matsui [D-Calif.]) would provide grants for that retraining and forgive a portion of debt of recent grads who would help with that retraining; The Wi-Fi Capable Mobile Devices Act (Peter Welch [D-Vt.]) would allow low-income students to use a parent's Lifeline connection for homework by accessing it through a Wi-Fi connection using unlicensed spectrum; The Rural Wireless Act (Dave Loebsack [D-Iowa]) would require the FCC to use "more reliable" data when determining where to spend on increased deployment; and The Tribal Digital Access Act (Rep. Raul Ruiz [D-Calif.]), would add "Indian Country" to the definition of areas eligible for Universal Service Fund Lifeline support.

It remains to be seen how far the bills get in a Congress controlled by Republicans with their own ideas about how to deploy broadband and spend federal subsidy dollars.

The Competitive Carriers Association applauded Loebsack's Rural Wireless Access Act.

“I applaud Rep. Loebsack for introducing the Rural Wireless Access Act,” said CCA President Steven K. Berry. “There certainly is a need to improve current data collection methods, as the FCC unfortunately has been relying on inconsistent and inaccurate data when identifying areas with little or no mobile broadband service.  There is currently no standard benchmarking for data collection to ensure usable signal strength.  This is particularly important for rural areas, where the largest carriers appear to overstate their advertised coverage to the detriment of consumers that live and work there and the carriers that serve these hard-to-reach locations.”