[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1063-S1065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under 
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination 
     of Travis Greaves, of the District of Columbia, to be a Judge 
     of the United States Tax Court for a term of fifteen years.
         Mitch McConnell, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Thom Tillis, John 
           Thune, Mike Crapo, Mike Rounds, Steve Daines, Kevin 
           Cramer, Richard Burr, John Cornyn, Shelley Moore 
           Capito, Todd Young, John Boozman, David Perdue, James 
           E. Risch, Lindsey Graham, Roger F. Wicker.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum 
calls with respect to the cloture motions be waived.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. For the information of the Senate, the motion 
to proceed to Calendar No. 420 was not agreed to; it was only made.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.


                                   5G

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I want to talk for a few minutes today 
about 5G, the Federal Communications Commission, and swamp creatures.
  We have all heard a lot about 5G, and 5G is just incredibly fast 
internet. It will make possible things like driverless cars, 
telemedicine, and the internet of things.
  I want to caution all of us that these things are not going to happen 
overnight. In fact, some parts of our country already have 5G, and we 
don't have driverless cars and the internet of things and long-distance 
surgery.
  These innovations are going to happen over a long period of time, and 
in the meantime, there is going to be a lot of hype from the 
telecommunications companies. Why? Because they want to sell you 5G. 
They are going to tell you that 5G can do all these incredible things. 
They are going to tell you that 5G can grow hair, that 5G can cure 
erectile dysfunction, that 5G can do this and it can do that.
  Look, I want to be on record as saying 5G is going to be 
extraordinary, but it is not going to happen overnight. The emergency 
that some of our telecommunications companies are trying to create is 
not nearly the emergency that really exists because they have something 
they want to sell you. I am not putting them down. That is free 
enterprise.
  How does 5G work? Well, it is wireless technology. When I have 5G on 
my phone and you have 5G on your phone, we communicate--whether it is 
5G wireless technology or otherwise--through radio waves. Radio waves 
go from my phone to your phone, and they carry data. It is called 
electromagnetic radiation, but all it is, is really radio waves. And 
there are all different kinds of radio waves. It depends on the 
frequency.
  Do you know who owns those radio waves? The FCC doesn't. The 
telecommunications companies, which use those radio waves, don't. The 
Federal Government doesn't, except in this sense: You own those radio 
waves. The American taxpayer owns those radio waves. And they are 
incredibly valuable because telecommunications companies line up when 
the FCC has new radio waves available for them. They line up to bid on 
those radio waves, which they can use. We call that spectrum.
  There is a certain type of radio wave going through the air--or 
spectrum, if you will--that is perfect for 5G. It is like Goldilocks' 
porridge--it is not too hot; it is not too cold; it is just right. The 
telecommunications companies want to use that C band, we call it, or 
midrange spectrum. I am going to call it C band. They want the FCC to 
license it to them.
  Well, right now, using that spectrum, that C band--remember, these 
are the radio waves, the spectrum, that are just perfect for 5G. Right 
now, using this C band spectrum are a number of satellite companies, 
most of which are foreign-owned. The major satellite companies that are 
using it right now happen to be domiciled in Luxembourg--wonderful 
country and wonderful people. Do you know what they pay to the American 
taxpayer to use that spectrum? Nothing. Zero. Nada.

  You say: Well, how did that happen, Kennedy? You just told me that 
these radio waves are very valuable and that the telecommunications 
companies are lined up to lease them. How did the foreign satellite 
companies get the C band for nothing if they are using it right now?
  I don't know. It wasn't this FCC, but some FCC just gave it to them 
and said: Here, use it for free.
  I wasn't there. I am not necessarily criticizing them. I am just 
telling you they got it for nothing. But they didn't get a license. 
They don't have a lease. They have a privilege to use it. In the fine 
print of the document that gives them this privilege, at any time, the 
FCC can take it back because the foreign satellite companies don't have 
a property interest. They don't own it. They don't have a lease. They 
didn't pay anything for it. They just have the privilege to use it 
until the FCC wants to take it back.
  Now, the foreign satellite companies--and I am not criticizing them. 
God bless them. They are making a lot of money using this spectrum that 
belongs to the American taxpayer for free. Well, that is the way it has 
been for a while. Now, some telecommunications companies like Verizon 
and others--good companies--they say: We need that C band, FCC. We need 
that C band to use for 5G.
  Well, the satellite companies--I will call them the Luxembourg 
satellite companies--once again, good people. Luxembourg is a good 
country. They said: Well, we are using the C band right now. We don't 
want to give it up to the telecommunications companies, but we will 
make you a deal.
  They went to the FCC. The satellite companies said to the FCC: We are 
using the C band right now, and even though we didn't pay a single 
solitary dime for it, we know the telecommunications companies want it 
to implement 5G, so here is what we will do. You, FCC, give us the C 
band. Give it to us, and we will turn around and make sure that the 
telecommunications companies get to use it. We will lease it to them.
  The amount of money that the foreign satellite companies would have 
made was about $70 billion. I call it ``The Bank Job'' robbery. 
Remember that movie that came out in 2008, ``The Bank Job''? It was a 
2008 heist movie. It was about the 1971 Baker Street robbery in London. 
I call this proposal ``The Bank Job'' robbery. I don't see how the 
foreign satellite companies made the proposal with a straight face. 
Give us this C band that belongs to the American people. Just give it 
to us, and we are going to sell it to the telecommunications companies 
and pocket the $70 billion.
  Do you know what? Our FCC almost did it. They were this close. They 
said: Oh, we have to do this because we have

[[Page S1064]]

to get this C band to the telecommunications companies because it is an 
emergency. We have to get 5G tomorrow, so let's just give the satellite 
companies that are using it now--didn't pay a red dime for it--let's 
give them the spectrum that belongs to the American people and let them 
sell it to the telecommunications companies and pocket the $70 billion 
because our hair is on fire and we have to do it.
  Swamp creatures. They came this close to stealing $70 billion from 
the American people, but they didn't pull it off because a number of 
Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives started raising 
fresh hell--fresh hell.
  I went to see the President of the United States.
  I said: Mr. President, do you know what is going on here? Here you 
are every day saying ``Buy American. We have to take care of America 
first.'' It doesn't mean we don't care about the rest of the world, but 
we have to buy American, and your FCC over here is giving away this C 
band to Luxembourg satellite companies.
  He said: What in God's name?
  He was like Rocketman. He got mad. I don't speak for the President, 
but I am just telling you what happened.
  So the FCC, to its credit, backed off. They said: No, we are not 
going to give it away. We are going to do what we should have done in 
the first place; that is, auction it off.
  They are going to hold an auction like on eBay, and these satellite 
companies--rather, these telecommunication companies can come in and 
bid. If the FCC would do it right, we would take in $70 billion for the 
American taxpayer, and we could use that money to implement rural 
broadband, and then everybody would be happy.
  It would have been great, but no, here comes the ``Baby Driver'' 
heist. Did you see that movie, ``Baby Driver''? Now there is a new 
proposal on the table. The Chairman of our FCC--who is a good man, by 
the way; I am going to come back to him--he has come up with a new 
proposal. To his credit, the Chairman says: We are going to bid it out, 
but we are going to take $15 billion of the money that comes in, and we 
are going to give it to the foreign satellite companies.
  For what? They don't own it. They don't have a license; they just 
have a privilege. He is going to give $5 billion to them to relocate to 
different spectrum, and then he is going to give them $10 billion--that 
is nine zeros--in walking-around money just to go away. That is why I 
call it the ``Baby Driver'' heist. That was a great movie. Did you see 
that, starring Jamie Foxx? Wonderful movie.
  Let me say this about the FCC Chairman: He is a friend of mine, and 
he is smart as a whip. He went to Harvard undergrad, honors degree, 
Chicago Law School, Chicago Law Review, and worked as an executive at 
Verizon Communications for a while. I consider him a friend, and I have 
the utmost respect for him, and I thank him for finally agreeing to do 
a public auction and not give the C band away to the foreign satellite 
companies. But as much as I respect the Chairman, I wouldn't take him 
with me if I was going to buy a car because he would pay the full 
sticker price. If I needed somebody to explain string theory to me or 
the Doppler effect or quantum engineering or genome sequencing, I would 
probably go to the Chairman of the FCC because he is that smart. But I 
don't agree with him that he has made a good deal to give $10 billion 
away to these foreign satellite companies--$10 billion of American 
taxpayer money that ought to be going to things like rural broadband.

  The Chairman is going to present that to the FCC to vote on it on 
February 28. He says he has the votes to pass it. I can tell you this, 
it is not going to be unanimous, and it is not going to be 
noncontroversial to give away $15 billion to somebody who doesn't have 
a property interest.
  He says: We have to do it because we are in a race with China.
  OK. I agree with that. And your point is?
  He says: Well, if we don't do it, the satellite companies are going 
to sue us.
  That is another straw man. Let me tell you something. The FCC gets 
sued every day. Do you know what the FCC Chairman needs to tell the 
satellite companies? He needs to tell them: Hey, do you need me to draw 
you a map to the courthouse? Go sue. We get sued every day, but I am 
not going to give you $15 billion of taxpayer money to go away because 
it is wrong.
  I am not sure the FCC has any authority to do this. Last time I 
checked, it was Congress that appropriates money, not the Federal 
Communications Commission.
  I told you that the FCC Chairman's proposal is to give the foreign 
satellite companies $5 billion to buy new satellites and to move to a 
new spectrum, and $10 billion just to go away because they say: Oh, we 
are scared of a lawsuit. We are scared of a lawsuit.
  I don't know how he arrived at $10 billion to give to them. I wish 
somebody would give me $10 billion. Why not $11 billion? Why not $8 
billion? Why not $7 billion? There is no explanation. We are just going 
to give them $10 billion of taxpayer money, and they are going to go 
away.
  Of course, the satellite companies, they are happy as clams. They are 
as happy as a gopher in soft dirt because they are getting $10 billion 
for nothing. And they are also getting $5 billion to buy new 
satellites, but if you check, all the satellites now are worn out, so 
they would have to buy new satellites anyway--5G or not.
  The FCC needs to wait. On February 28, they need to announce and vote 
to have the public auction as they had promised. It will be held in 
December of this year. There is absolutely not a single solitary reason 
why the Chairman of the FCC has to put a vote in front of the FCC to 
give away $15 billion of taxpayer money. We can negotiate a better 
deal. We can negotiate a better deal.
  The Chairman of the FCC does not need to become known as the $15 
billion man. He needs to hold up and let us talk to the satellite 
companies and negotiate a better deal.
  Now, if he is not willing to do that, he needs to at least tell 
President Trump because do you know who is going to get blamed for 
this? The President. It will not be his fault, but he is going to get 
blamed for it because it happened on his watch.
  Here he is, out there talking about the American economy, we have to 
protect our economy, and we have to buy American first. It doesn't mean 
we don't love the rest of the world, but his FCC is just giving away 
$15 billion of taxpayer money--of taxpayer money--to our friends and 
foreign satellite companies, and the President will get blamed. So I am 
hoping the FCC at least goes to see him and tell him what they are 
going to do.
  When the American public finds out about this, you are not going to 
be able to find the FCC members who came up with this idea. You are not 
going to be able to find them with a flashlight, with a map, or with a 
search party. You will not be able to find them with Google. They are 
going to be hiding. It is an embarrassment.
  They may have the votes to do this, but I am not giving up. I have a 
bill, along with Senator Schumer--yes, Chuck and I are working on a 
bill together--Senator Cantwell, Senator Schatz, and we are going to 
have some others on the bill, that says: Look, this is Congress's 
decision, not FCC's decision. It would allocate a much more modest sum 
to these foreign satellite companies. I would like the FCC, if it 
would, to step back, continue on with its auction planning and give us 
a chance to negotiate on behalf of the American taxpayer.
  I am going to close with this point: Not a single day passes in this 
Chamber that I don't hear one of us, Democrats and Republicans, talking 
about the deficits, and, boy, are they high--$22 trillion and climbing. 
We borrow $1 million a minute to run this place. So $1.4 billion a day, 
that is how much more we spend than we take in. We are mortgaging our 
kids' future. Everybody talks about it and says we have to do something 
about it.
  We are like a problem gambler chasing his losses. Some say we are 
like a drunk sailor, but we are worse than a drunk sailor. A drunk 
sailor stops spending when he runs out of money. We don't. We just 
borrow it.
  Here we are, in the middle of all of this, and our Federal 
Communications Commission is going to give away $15 billion. Our 
Chairman, henceforth, will be known as the $15 billion man.
  If they do this without telling the President, without consulting 
with

[[Page S1065]]

Congress, and without trying to negotiate a better deal for the 
American taxpayer, then we ought to change their name from the Federal 
Communications Commission to the ``Federal Sucker Commission'' because 
that is all they are.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.