[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.

                          ____________________