House advances Walden-supported, bipartisan RAY BAUM’s bill swiftly reauthorizing FCC

U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) is celebrating work by the U.S. House of Representatives that speedily moves forward a bill he has helped champion to reauthorize the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and ultimately sets the stage for the United States to start spectrum auctions later this year.

The proposed measure, the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act of 2018, or the RAY BAUM’s Act, H.R. 4986, on March 6 passed on a voice vote. The bill is named for former House Energy and Commerce Committee Staff Director Ray Baum, a close friend of Rep. Walden’s and a telecommunications policy advocate who passed away in February. If enacted, H.R. 4986 is expected to quicken the nationwide roll out of next-generation wireless services.

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, introduced H.R. 4986, previously known as the FCC Reauthorization Act of 2018, on Feb. 8, with Rep. Walden as cosponsor.

“The RAY BAUM’S Act will make the FCC more transparent, efficient, and modern while strengthening the nation’s critical telecommunications services and spurring the deployment of 5G,” Walden and Blackburn said in a joint statement on Tuesday. “With this legislation, we’re also upholding our commitment to broadcasters across the country by authorizing reimbursement for those broadcasters who were displaced after the successful incentive auctions.”

H.R. 4968 contains several proposals and aims to strengthen the national telecommunications infrastructure and give the United States a global competitive advantage with 5G wireless broadband systems that deploy advanced wireless services.

Specifically, H.R. 4986 would reauthorize appropriations for the FCC and enact certain procedural changes that would restructure the FCC toward spectrum reallocation and faster broadband deployment, among other purposes. The bill’s reforms would be “good for consumers and good for our nation’s critical telecommunications services,” Rep. Walden said in comments on the House floor prior to Tuesday’s vote.

One of the changes proposed under H.R. 4986 is a fix to spectrum auction payment deposits so that they can be made by spectrum bidders directly into the U.S. Treasury rather than to an interest-bearing account as now required. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said on Feb. 26 during a mobile conference in Spain that Congress has until May 13 to resolve this issue or the commission can’t set an exact auction timetable, which could delay the country’s 5G plans.

Another change under the bill regards key provisions from the Senate-approved Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless (MOBILE NOW) Act, S. 19, introduced by Sen. John Thune (R-SD) on Jan. 3, 2017, which would promote the identification of more licensed and unlicensed spectrum for private sector use in developing 5G wireless broadband. The Senate passed S. 19 on Aug. 3, 2017. Thune, who serves as chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, was joined by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), ranking member of the committee, in introducing the bipartisan measure.

“Importantly, [the bill] includes spectrum legislation that passed the Senate unanimously last year and authorizes reimbursement for broadcasters who were displaced in the successful incentive auctions,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement on March 2, referring to the FCC’s 2016 auctions designed to repurpose spectrum for new users that made low-band airwaves available for wireless broadband.

Once bidding on the incentive auctions closed in March 2017, the FCC’s 39-month time clock started ticking in which certain TV stations had to transition to new channel assignments, making space for the winning mobile wireless licenses bidders. Under H.R. 4986, a “repack fund” would address the funding shortfall associated with relocating these displaced broadcasters. Relocation funds also would be established for translators and low-power TV and radio stations affected by the repack, according to a summary provided by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The House-approved bill now heads to the U.S. Senate for its consideration.