[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 117 (Monday, September 9, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H5414-H5416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1615
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION CONSOLIDATED REPORTING ACT OF 2013
Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2844) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to consolidate
the reporting obligations of the Federal Communications Commission in
order to improve congressional oversight and reduce reporting burdens,
as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2844
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Communications
Commission Consolidated Reporting Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. COMMUNICATIONS MARKETPLACE REPORT.
Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 14. COMMUNICATIONS MARKETPLACE REPORT.
``(a) In General.--In the last quarter of every even-
numbered year, the Commission shall publish on its website
and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the
state of the communications marketplace.
``(b) Contents.--Each report required by subsection (a)
shall--
``(1) assess the state of competition in the communications
marketplace, including competition to deliver voice, video,
audio, and data services among providers of
telecommunications, providers of commercial mobile service
(as defined in section 332), multichannel video programming
distributors (as defined in section 602), broadcast stations,
providers of satellite communications, Internet service
providers, and other providers of communications services;
``(2) assess the state of deployment of communications
capabilities, including advanced telecommunications
capability (as defined in section 706 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302)), regardless
of the technology used for such deployment, including whether
advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to
all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion;
``(3) assess whether laws, regulations, or regulatory
practices (whether those of the Federal Government, States,
political subdivisions of States, Indian tribes or tribal
organizations (as such terms are defined in section 4 of the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 450b)), or foreign governments) pose a barrier to
competitive entry into the communications marketplace or to
the competitive expansion of existing providers of
communications services;
``(4) describe the agenda of the Commission for the next 2-
year period for addressing the challenges and opportunities
in the communications marketplace that were identified
through the assessments under paragraphs (1) through (3); and
``(5) describe the actions that the Commission has taken in
pursuit of the agenda described pursuant to paragraph (4) in
the previous report submitted under this section.
``(c) Extension.--If the President designates a
Commissioner as Chairman of the Commission during the last
quarter of an even-numbered year, the portion of the report
required by subsection (b)(4) may be published on the website
of the Commission and submitted to the Committee on Energy
and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate as an addendum during the first quarter of the
following odd-numbered year.
``(d) Special Requirements.--
``(1) Assessing competition.--In assessing the state of
competition under subsection (b)(1), the Commission shall
consider all forms of competition, including the effect of
intermodal competition, facilities-based competition, and
competition from new and emergent communications services,
including the provision of content and communications using
the Internet.
``(2) Assessing deployment.--In assessing the state of
deployment under subsection (b)(2), the Commission shall
compile a list of geographical areas that are not served by
any provider of advanced telecommunications capability.
``(3) International comparisons and demographic
information.--The Commission may use readily available data
to draw appropriate comparisons between the United States
communications marketplace and the international
communications marketplace and to correlate its assessments
with demographic information.
[[Page H5415]]
``(4) Considering small businesses.--In assessing the state
of competition under subsection (b)(1) and regulatory
barriers under subsection (b)(3), the Commission shall
consider market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and other
small businesses in the communications marketplace in
accordance with the national policy under section 257(b).''.
SEC. 3. CONSOLIDATION OF REDUNDANT REPORTS; CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.
(a) ORBIT Act Report.--Section 646 of the Communications
Satellite Act of 1962 (47 U.S.C. 765e; 114 Stat. 57) is
repealed.
(b) Satellite Competition Report.--Section 4 of Public Law
109-34 (47 U.S.C. 703) is repealed.
(c) International Broadband Data Report.--Section 103 of
the Broadband Data Improvement Act (47 U.S.C. 1303) is
amended--
(1) by striking subsection (b); and
(2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) as
subsections (b) through (d), respectively.
(d) Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of
Video Programming Report.--Section 628 of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 548) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (g);
(2) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (g); and
(3) by transferring subsection (g) (as redesignated) so
that it appears after subsection (f).
(e) Report on Cable Industry Prices.--
(1) In general.--Section 623 of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 543) is amended--
(A) by striking subsection (k); and
(B) by redesignating subsections (l) through (n) as
subsections (k) through (m), respectively.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 613(a)(3) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 533(a)(3)) is amended
by striking ``623(l)'' and inserting ``623(k)''.
(f) Triennial Report Identifying and Eliminating Market
Entry Barriers for Entrepreneurs and Other Small
Businesses.--Section 257 of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 257) is amended by striking subsection (c).
(g) Section 706 Report.--Section 706 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in the last sentence, by striking ``If the Commission's
determination is negative, it'' and inserting ``If the
Commission determines in its report under section 14 of the
Communications Act of 1934 that advanced telecommunications
capability is not being deployed to all Americans in a
reasonable and timely fashion, the Commission''; and
(B) by striking the first and second sentences;
(2) by striking subsection (c);
(3) in subsection (d), by striking ``this subsection'' and
inserting ``this section''; and
(4) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c).
(h) State of Competitive Market Conditions With Respect to
Commercial Mobile Radio Services.--Section 332(c)(1)(C) of
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(c)(1)(C)) is
amended by striking the first and second sentences.
(i) Previously Eliminated Annual Report.--
(1) In general.--Section 4 of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 154) is amended--
(A) by striking subsection (k); and
(B) by redesignating subsections (l) through (o) as
subsections (k) through (n), respectively.
(2) Conforming amendments.--The Communications Act of 1934
is amended--
(A) in section 9(i), by striking ``In the Commission's
annual report, the Commission shall prepare an analysis of
its progress in developing such systems and'' and inserting
``The Commission''; and
(B) in section 309(j)(8)(B), by striking the last sentence.
(j) Additional Outdated Reports.--The Communications Act of
1934 is further amended--
(1) in section 4--
(A) in subsection (b)(2)(B)(ii), by striking ``and shall
furnish notice of such action'' and all that follows through
``subject of the waiver''; and
(B) in subsection (g), by striking paragraph (2);
(2) in section 215--
(A) by striking subsection (b); and
(B) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (b);
(3) in section 227(e), by striking paragraph (4);
(4) in section 309(j)--
(A) by striking paragraph (12); and
(B) in paragraph (15)(C), by striking clause (iv);
(5) in section 331(b), by striking the last sentence;
(6) in section 336(e), by amending paragraph (4) to read as
follows:
``(4) Report.--The Commission shall annually advise the
Congress on the amounts collected pursuant to the program
required by this subsection.'';
(7) in section 339(c), by striking paragraph (1);
(8) in section 396--
(A) by striking subsection (i);
(B) in subsection (k)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph (F); and
(ii) in paragraph (3)(B)(iii), by striking subclause (V);
(C) in subsection (l)(1)(B), by striking ``shall be
included'' and all that follows through ``The audit report'';
and
(D) by striking subsection (m);
(9) in section 398(b)(4), by striking the third sentence;
(10) in section 624A(b)(1)--
(A) by striking ``Report; regulations'' and inserting
``Regulations'';
(B) by striking ``Within 1 year after'' and all that
follows through ``on means of assuring'' and inserting ``The
Commission shall issue such regulations as are necessary to
assure''; and
(C) by striking ``Within 180 days after'' and all that
follows through ``to assure such compatibility.''; and
(11) in section 713, by striking subsection (a).
SEC. 4. EFFECT ON AUTHORITY.
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act
shall be construed to expand or contract the authority of the
Federal Communications Commission.
SEC. 5. OTHER REPORTS.
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act
shall be construed to prohibit or otherwise prevent the
Federal Communications Commission from producing any
additional reports otherwise within the authority of the
Commission.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Louisiana (Mr. Scalise) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana.
General Leave
Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Louisiana?
There was no objection.
Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
The legislation before the House this afternoon, H.R. 2844, the FCC
Consolidated Reporting Act, is a bipartisan bill that seeks to provide
flexibility and relief to both our job creators as well as the Federal
Communications Commission. This bill is another step in the process of
streamlining government so that businesses can focus their time and
resources on growing our economy and creating jobs instead of complying
with outdated and burdensome mandates from the Federal Government.
Every dollar spent on outdated FCC reporting mandates is a dollar that
could otherwise be spent creating more high-paying jobs and investing
in new infrastructure.
H.R. 2844 also recognizes the reality that our Nation is in a fiscal
crisis and that we must find ways to do more with less. By
consolidating eight annual and tri-annual reports into a single
biannual Communications Marketplace Report, not only do we recognize
this new budget reality by giving the FCC more flexibility and tools to
drive greater efficiencies but we can usher in a platform to analyze
the converged nature of today's highly competitive intermodal
communications industry, which has moved beyond the traditional
confines of the 1992 and 1996 Cable and Communications Act.
This simple, commonsense measure will also ensure that Congress has
timely access to the Commission's best analysis of the communication's
landscape at the beginning of each Congress by requiring that the
Communications Marketplace Report be published in the last quarter of
an even-numbered year. This will allow Congress to better use findings
to inform our legislative activities.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is a great example of lawmakers from both
sides of the aisle coming together to reform outdated government
mandates that were created by Congresses of the past. I applaud
Chairmen Upton and Walden, as well as Ranking Member Eshoo, for working
so closely and cooperatively with me on this legislation; and I
strongly encourage my colleagues to join in supporting passage of this
commonsense measure.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 2844, a bill to streamline many of the
outdated reporting requirements that Congress has placed on the Federal
Communications Commission. At a time when agency resources are limited,
this bill, I think, is an example of how to make the FCC's reporting
obligations more efficient, which in turn will ensure that the agency
can focus on its mission to protect the public interest and promote
competition across the communications marketplace.
The bill also ensures that the FCC has the flexibility to continue
assessing the state of competition, which is so essential and so
important in our
[[Page H5416]]
country across the entire communications marketplace, including
particular submarkets like wireless, cable, and satellite. This data is
vital to both consumers and to policymakers.
I want to thank Chairman Walden; certainly the chairman of the full
committee, Chairman Upton; and most especially, Representative Scalise,
for pursuing this legislation in a bipartisan manner and for working
with me to ensure that the expert agency, the FCC, was included in our
deliberations.
Mr. Speaker, the House passed a similar bill in the last Congress. So
I recommend to all of our colleagues this very sensible bill that,
again, is something that all Members can stand for, and that is to
streamline a Federal agency and kind of get rid of some of the weeds of
the past and clear a better path for the agency to continue, again,
assessing the state of competition across the entire communications
marketplace.
So with that, Mr. Speaker, I don't believe I have any speakers on
this side. I urge my colleagues--everyone in the House--to support the
bill. I think it deserves that kind of support.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SCALISE. I want to thank the gentlelady from California, again,
for her hard work on this and the good bipartisan cooperation that
we've had in making these reforms.
I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden), chairman
of the Telecommunications Subcommittee.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana and the
gentlelady from California for their great work on this, I think,
really good bill.
I was in small business for more than 22 years with my wife, and
these are the sorts of odds and ends that can eat a small business
alive. It can eat an agency alive as well. These are silly mandates
that get put on, often for a good reason initially; but then nobody
ever goes back and says, Why are we still asking for a report on the
status of the telegraph industry, or whatever else. We went back and
did that.
This is the kind of nuts-and-bolts work that I think helps clean up
government, helps make it more efficient, makes it more productive,
makes it more affordable, and gets out of the way and helps stop doing
things it doesn't need to do. Too often, we don't do that.
I think one of the hallmarks of our subcommittee has been a real
bipartisan effort to make sure that when we create programs, we then
follow and make sure they're working, like we're doing with FirstNet
and the Incentive Auctions, to try and track and make sure it's working
and then to dig deeper and look for those things that aren't working or
they're outdated, yet put a burden on an agency and cost either those
who pay for that agency through their taxes or through fees, or
whatever. It's all coming out of the private economy into the
government economy. We need to stop that.
So this bill consolidates eight separate congressionally mandated
reports on the communications industry into a single comprehensive
report. As my colleague from Louisiana said, it changes the timeline so
that Congress can get the information in a better and timely manner.
And it cuts cost. I hope this bill will receive strong bipartisan
support in the House. I assume it will. And I hope that our friends
across the building will in this Congress take it up and pass it as
well.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the bipartisan work of my
friends from California and from Louisiana. I urge the House to approve
this measure and send it expeditiously over to the Senate.
Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, in closing, as we heard from our
constituents, as we just got back from this August work period where
many of us held townhall meetings throughout our district, people are
frustrated with why Congress can't work together to get things done. I
think this is a good example of how both parties came together and
looked at some very outdated laws.
People also ask, Why are you always passing laws and why don't you
actually get rid of some of the laws on the books that don't make any
sense? Well, that's what we're doing here with H.R. 2844. We're
actually going through and repealing laws that are burdens to our small
businesses that are out there trying to create jobs in the technology
industry. One of the great growing segments of our economy is the
telecommunications industry; and yet look at some of these reports that
they're required and mandated to compile, many of which have no real
bearing on the marketplace today. As the chairman of the subcommittee
mentioned, we actually do repeal the telegraph report. Why we still
have a law on the books that requires a report issued on
competitiveness in the telegraph industry--that goes to show how we
have so many of these outdated laws on the books still to this day. And
Congress from time to time needs to go and repeal outdated rules and
regulations like this. That's what we're doing in this legislation.
It's a good, commonsense piece of legislation that we worked on in a
bipartisan way to bring to the floor. I urge all my colleagues to pass
the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2844, as amended
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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