[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 9, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1354-S1355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             MOBILE NOW ACT

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, over the last 20 years we have seen 
incredible advancements in computing, telecommunications, and 
information technology. The United States has led the world in this 
innovation thanks to our brilliant entrepreneurs, scientists, world-
class universities, massive private sector capital investment, a 
culture that rewards risk-taking, and a favorable regulatory 
environment, but increasingly our lead in innovation is threatened as 
American businesses are forced to contend with an ever-growing number 
of outdated laws and regulations. While our businesses have often 
managed to succeed anyway, American industries deserve better from our 
government.
  Congress has a responsibility to ensure that our statutes and 
regulations are appropriately and narrowly tailored for today's economy 
and for the future. My Commerce Committee colleagues and I have been 
eager to do our part in ensuring our Nation's communications laws keep 
pace with innovation. Last week, we unanimously passed the bipartisan 
MOBILE NOW Act, which I introduced, along with the committee's ranking 
member Senator Bill Nelson. This legislation will give a boost to 
American innovators who are looking to make the next generation of 
wireless technology, known as 5G, a reality.
  Mr. President, 5G wireless will obviously mean things like faster 
movie downloads and more advanced smartphones, and it will also mean 
massive leaps forward in areas like technology, entertainment, public 
safety, and health care, as well as other economic benefits that will 
make American lives better.
  One of the best examples I have heard came from former FCC 
Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker. She pointed out that right now a 
Smart Car communicating with 4G wireless technology takes 4\1/2\ feet 
to brake in response to an obstacle. By contrast, a Smart car with 5G 
technology would travel only 1 inch before braking, which could be the 
difference between life and death. In order to make 5G wireless 
technology a reality, we have to put the right policies in place. 
Policies that maximize the efficiency of the airwaves that transmit 
wireless broadband signals and the bands of electromagnetic spectrum 
that make up our Nation's airwaves are in limited supply. While we 
can't make more airwaves to carry additional spectrum, we can make 
changes to how they are used and who uses them in order to improve 
efficiency and to do more of what we have.
  The MOBILE NOW Act will require the government to make at least 255 
megahertz of spectrum available for private sector broadband use by the 
year 2020. That is a lot of spectrum, but MOBILE NOW doesn't stop 
there. The bill also directs government to assess more than 12,000 
megahertz of superhigh frequency spectrum for wireless broadband 
suitability. For technical reasons, that spectrum has seen only limited 
use to date, but as new technologies come online in the next few years, 
this spectrum will become increasingly viable.
  Indeed, most people expect that these superhigh bands will become 
critical for our 5G future. Making spectrum available is important, but 
freeing up spectrum does not help our digital economy unless and until 
we put it to good use. This is why several of MOBILE NOW's provisions 
focus on speeding up the deployment of the communications facilities at 
the heart of our Nation's broadband networks. One way to do that is by 
putting a shot clock on Federal agencies to force them to make speedy 
decisions on companies' applications to place wireless facilities on 
Federal property. This is critical for rural States like South Dakota 
and Nevada where placing wireless facilities on Federal lands could 
bring more high-speed Internet service to underserved communities.
  The MOBILE NOW Act is an example of what is possible when Members put 
aside their partisan differences and work together to come up with 
commonsense proposals to spur economic growth. In addition to the 
provisions Senator Nelson and I wrote, MOBILE NOW also includes all or 
part of six other bills which represent the work of Senators Booker, 
Daines, Fischer, Gardner, Klobuchar, Manchin, Moran, Rubio, Schatz, and 
Udall. We also adopted important amendments from Senators Heller and 
Peters. Even the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Environment 
and Public Works Committee--Senator Inhofe, as well as a longtime 
former member of the Commerce Committee, Senator Boxer--made key 
contributions to the bill's ``dig once'' section.

  The MOBILE NOW Act would not have been possible without the 
collaboration of these Senators. So it is my hope that this spirit of 
bipartisanship will also carry over to the Commerce Committee's efforts 
to reauthorize the Federal Communications Commission. Compared to other 
Federal agencies, the FCC is relatively small. But as the regulator of 
the communications and technology industries, both of which are central 
to America's modern economy, the Commission has significant influence 
over the direction of our country.
  Given the importance of the FCC, my colleagues might be surprised to 
learn that Congress has not reauthorized it in more than a quarter of a 
century. You have to go back to 1990 to find the last time that the 
FCC, or the Federal Communications Commission, was reauthorized.
  The work of the FCC has continued during that period, of course, but 
reauthorizing this agency every 2 years ensures that Congress will be 
able to make sure that the FCC has all the tools it needs to keep up 
with our rapidly changing digital landscape. Some 26 years ago--I think 
it is safe to say--none of us in this Chamber knew anything about the 
Web, let alone about smartphones or streaming videos.
  Since then, the communications landscape has been fundamentally 
transformed by digital technology, mobile services, and the Internet. 
Yet the FCC in that entire time has gone unauthorized, making it the 
oldest expired authorization in the Commerce Committee's broad 
jurisdiction. I hope we can change that.
  On Monday I introduced the FCC Reauthorization Act of 2016, which 
includes a handful of noncontroversial, good-government reforms to go 
with a 2-year reauthorization window. By restarting the FCC's regular 
authorization cycle, the bill will ensure that necessary congressional 
oversight of the FCC's budget and procedures occur routinely.
  As indicated by the FCC Commissioners themselves at our oversight 
hearing last week, a consistent legislative reauthorization process 
will produce a more responsible and a more productive relationship 
between Congress and the Commission. This will result in better 
outcomes for both consumers and the rapidly growing broadband-based 
economy.
  Telecom policy was once considered to be one of the least partisan 
issues in Congress. While the campaign for net neutrality has certainly 
changed the political playing field over the last decade, I believe 
there is still a lot of room for bipartisanship on tech and 
telecommunications issues. The MOBILE NOW Act and the FCC 
Reauthorization Act are two bills that can make a real difference. I 
look forward to working with colleagues on the Commerce Committee and 
in the full Senate to pass both of these bills in the coming months.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 
15 minutes.

[[Page S1355]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________