[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 10, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H268-H270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SMALL BUSINESS BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT ACT
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 288) to ensure that small business providers of broadband
Internet access service can devote resources to broadband deployment
rather than compliance with cumbersome regulatory requirements.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 288
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 ``Small Business Broadband
Deployment Act''.
SEC. 2. EXCEPTION TO ENHANCEMENT TO TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS
FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
(a) In General.--The enhancements to the transparency rule
of the Federal Communications Commission under section 8.3 of
title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as described in
paragraphs 162 through 184 of the Report and Order on Remand,
Declaratory Ruling, and Order of the Federal Communications
Commission with regard to protecting and promoting the open
Internet (adopted February 26, 2015) (FCC 15-24), shall not
apply to any small business.
(b) Sunset.--Subsection (a) shall not have any force or
effect after the date that is 5 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(c) Report by FCC.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications
Commission shall 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
that contains the recommendations of the Commission (and data
supporting such recommendations) regarding--
(1) whether the exception provided by subsection (a) should
be made permanent; and
(2) whether the definition of the term ``small business''
for purposes of such exception should be modified from the
definition in subsection (d)(2).
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Broadband internet access service.--The term
``broadband Internet access service'' has the meaning given
such term in section 8.2 of title 47, Code of Federal
Regulations.
(2) Small business.--The term ``small business'' means any
provider of broadband Internet access service that has not
more than 250,000 subscribers.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
McNerney) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Tennessee.
General Leave
Mrs. BLACKBURN. 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 this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Tennessee?
There was no objection.
{time} 1530
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 288, the Small Business
Broadband Deployment Act. I am glad that the House is taking swift
action on this bill, which would protect small Internet service
providers from the enhanced disclosure requirements laid out in the
2015 Open Internet Order.
After adopting the Open Internet Order, the FCC recognized the
importance of exempting small ISPs from these enhanced transparency
rules and subsequently granted a temporary exemption to broadband
providers with fewer than 100,000 subscribers. However, the Commission
failed to reach an agreement to grant another exemption before the
deadline last December and, as a result, has left hundreds of our
Nation's small providers vulnerable to cumbersome rules.
FCC Commissioners Pai and O'Rielly have taken action, since the
exemption expired, to reassure our small broadband providers that the
rules will not be enforced until the situation has been addressed by
the Commission, but Congress should go a step further and provide
certainty to our Nation's small businesses and pass this bill.
Rather than a 1-year exemption to the enhanced disclosure
requirements, this bill would exempt for 5 years broadband providers
with fewer than 250,000 subscribers from the enhanced reporting
obligations, providing them with the regulatory certainty to invest in
their business.
At our hearing last January, we heard from multiple witnesses just
how cumbersome and burdensome these rules are. One witness described
the difference to be as significant as the need to hire regulatory
counsel versus the ability to build another tower to provide service.
For a small business in a capital-intensive industry, that could be the
difference between getting more people connected to the Internet and
going out of business.
We cannot let our small businesses and hardworking taxpayers be
saddled
[[Page H269]]
with more onerous rules and the costs that they bring. In addition to
regulatory relief for small ISPs, the bill adds certainty for our
Nation's small ISPs by extending the exemption for 5 years.
It was disappointing to see the Commission fail to reach an agreement
at the end of last year to extend the exemption, and it is why we are
here today. Despite overwhelming bipartisan support from Congress and
President Obama's Small Business Administration, negotiations fell
short, and our Nation's smallest and most competitive Internet service
providers were left to bear the burden.
In today's 21st century economy, we need to do more to encourage
connectivity, and this bill embodies that spirit. Congress is poised to
provide the regulatory certainty small businesses are seeking in order
to invest in stronger networks and foster a better consumer experience.
I want to thank Chairman Walden and Mr. Loebsack for acting quickly
to reintroduce this legislation, and I urge all of my colleagues to
support the commonsense measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
First of all, I want to congratulate the gentleman from Oregon on his
new chairmanship. I look forward to working across the aisle on most of
the issues. It is a good bipartisan subcommittee. I think we have a lot
to accomplish.
The Small Business Broadband Deployment Act, H.R. 288, unanimously
passed the House last Congress on a bipartisan vote, unanimous. H.R.
288 provides a 5-year exemption from the FCC's enhanced transparency
rules for small Internet service providers that serve 250,000 or fewer
subscribers.
This exemption comes with the understanding that there is a 5-year
sunset on the exemption and that the FCC report to Congress with
sufficient information to help us better understand the impacts on the
consumers of a permanent exemption, of a possible permanent exemption.
This data will also better inform us whether a longer term exemption is
necessary and whether we got the definition of what a small business is
right in this case.
It is also worth noting that H.R. 288 would leave intact the FCC's
2010 transparency rules that consumers have come to rely on, such as
what they are paying for, Internet speeds they rely on, data quality,
and so on. At the same time, these modifications provide certainty for
small ISPs while the FCC collects and reports relevant information to
Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Walden), the chairman of the Committee on Energy and
Commerce and the author of this legislation.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the new subcommittee
chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. I know
our country is in good hands and our committee is as well with Mrs.
Blackburn chairing that important subcommittee. I want to thank my
colleague from California for his kind comments and his work over the
years on these issues. I concur with him that we have a wonderful
opportunity to continue our bipartisan work as the committee has been
known for, for a long time. Clearly, from time to time, we will have
our differences, and we know that as well. It is part of democracy.
There is so much of this work, like this bill, that is so very
important.
As we begin the 115th Congress, I am pleased to be here to support
this bipartisan bill because I think it reflects the best of what
government can do for those who sent us here. Small Business Broadband
Deployment Act seeks to alleviate, as you have heard, Mr. Speaker,
these unnecessary regulatory burdens on small Internet service
providers--these are the small ones, oftentimes in our rural
communities but not always--while still ensuring that consumers are
protected. We found the right balance here.
By extending an exemption to the Federal Communications Commission's
enhanced reporting rules, this bill allows these small businesses to
focus on their core mission, and that is to provide broadband Internet
access to customers throughout America. Over the past year, we spent a
great deal of time focused on this issue. We first raised concerns with
the Federal Communications Commission in a letter, Mr. Speaker, from
the committee, as well as from the Committee on Small Business. We
urged the chairman, Tom Wheeler, to not only make the exemption
permanent but also to raise the threshold by defining a small business
to bring it in line with the definitions previously blessed by the
Obama administration's Small Business Administration. We were trying to
find some consistency, some workability, and some common sense here.
Well, unfortunately, the FCC only extended the exemption for 1 year,
despite the overwhelming support to do this permanent extension. It was
clear Congress needed to act. That is what we are doing here. I
introduced a discussion draft last year that would have permanently
extended the exemption and increased the threshold by defining a small
business.
At our January 2016 legislative hearing on the bill, we heard from a
small Internet service provider who shared the dilemma that many small
ISPs face in these circumstances: Should they put up new equipment, or
should they hire a lawyer to help with compliance? Should they improve
service for customers, or should they devote those financial resources
to sifting through regulatory language and drafting extensive reports
on packet loss?
So often these small ISPs provide service to areas of the country
that are rural, like in my district throughout eastern Oregon or
Representative Loebsack's district in Iowa--we heard from him--or may
not be as easy to serve and, in some cases, provide a vital competitive
edge to larger Internet service providers. We should be making all
efforts to promote the viability of these businesses, not saddle them
with additional requirements that make it more difficult to do what
they are in business to do.
Representative Loebsack and I were able to come to a compromise
through extensive negotiation. In the bill we have before us today, we
extend this exemption for 5 years. Now, it gives greater regulatory
certainty to these small Internet service providers looking for
predictability when making investment decisions. In addition, we
increased the threshold for defining a small business and required the
FCC to report back to Congress on the exemption along with data around
small ISPs that is currently lacking.
In the end, this bill presents a good compromise that will relieve
burdens for small businesses while leaving in place protections for
consumers. So it is important to note this bill doesn't affect the
transparency rules, as my colleagues have mentioned, adopted in the
FCC's 2010 rules. Consumers will continue to have access to those
disclosures they have come to expect, with the information needed to
make informed decisions about their Internet service.
Again, this bill passed the House unanimously last year, 411-0.
Unfortunately, while it made it through the Senate Commerce Committee,
it never quite came up for a vote in the Senate. In addition, the
exemption granted by the FCC expired on December 15, 2016, and has not
yet been renewed. Now, that leaves these many small businesses exposed
to the serious reporting burden that we have heard about throughout
this process, as well as a great deal of uncertainty around what the
future may hold for them. It is now more important than ever that we
act to quickly fill this gap and protect these businesses and the
consumers they serve.
I would like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle,
especially Representative Loebsack, for working with us on this bill.
This bipartisan process has resulted in a strong piece of legislation
that I am confident will protect many and promote continued network
investment and build-out by small businesses. This legislation
represents a commonsense approach to a problem that directly impacts so
many of our constituents. This solution will enable our country to
continue its leadership in broadband deployment. I urge my colleagues
to support this legislation.
Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank the chairman for
his work on this and for his willingness to
[[Page H270]]
compromise. As he pointed out, it was a process. It took both sides. I
think he wanted permanent exemption, we wanted a less exemption, and it
worked out. I think it is the right compromise. Five years gives
businesses the predictability they need. It is a good place to be. In 5
years, we will see the report and whether it makes sense to continue
the exemption or not.
I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate my colleague
from Tennessee on assuming the chairmanship of the subcommittee. I look
forward to our working together.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Carter), a new member of our committee, the Committee on
Energy and Commerce.
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my
support of H.R. 288, the Small Business Broadband Deployment Act. In
2015, the FCC adopted burdensome transparency requirements for Internet
service providers. The FCC immediately recognized that these new
transparency requirements would be particularly burdensome for small
Internet service providers, so they provided a temporary exemption for
providers with 100,000 or fewer subscribers. Despite overwhelming
support to make the exemption permanent, the Commission extended the
current exemption for just an additional year.
The bill eases the burdens created by the FCC rule by extending the
exemption to Internet service providers who have 250,000 subscribers or
less and extends the exemption for 5 years.
This is commonsense legislation. This bill provides relief and
certainty to Internet service providers so they can continue to build
networks, deploy broadband, improve connectivity for rural consumers,
and create jobs.
I commend Chairman Walden for championing this legislation so that we
can continue to grow our infrastructure and improve connectivity for
rural Americans.
Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Chabot).
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 288, the
Small Business Broadband Deployment Act. This commonsense, bipartisan
legislation does two important things. First, it extends the temporary
exemption granted to small businesses by the Federal Communications
Commission, the FCC, from the burdensome disclosure requirements for
Internet service providers and the FCC's own Open Internet Order by 5
years. Second, it increases the number of small businesses that can
utilize the exemption by raising the threshold from 100,000 subscribers
to the much more realistic 250,000 subscribers.
Small businesses frequently feel that the Federal Government
exercises its most creativity in looking for new ways to get in their
way. Oftentimes, small Internet providers are the only ones willing to
take the risk and deploy broadband to particularly hard-to-reach areas
of rural America. The last thing they have time for is the FCC imposing
a greater regulatory burden on them, diverting precious resources to
make Washington bureaucrats busy instead of doing what they do best,
providing high quality broadband services to millions of Americans in
every corner of our country.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and
help reduce a portion of the tedious regulatory burden on small
businesses.
{time} 1545
Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to say that the
bill passed unanimously in the last Congress. It is bipartisan. It
gives small ISP providers a certain amount of time and it allows the
FCC to decide if it is overburdensome or not, to require them to
disclose information to their customers. This allows us to give
customers the amount of protection that is due them as well.
So it is a good compromise. I urge all of my colleagues to support
it.
I thank my colleagues for their hard work.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I will just encourage my colleagues to
join us in passing H.R. 288.
As my colleague from California said, this is one of those
commonsense measures. When you talk about removing the burden of
regulatory overreach from our Nation's small business, and in this
case, our small Internet service providers, this is something that will
help get that job done. It is also something that will help extend
Internet service to more Americans, and that is a goal that we all
share.
So at this time, in closing, I encourage passage of H.R. 288.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 288.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________