[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 171 (Thursday, October 1, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6016-S6017]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 451

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of the first 
responders in our country. Every day, brave women and men on the 
frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic rely on T-Band, a spectrum that 
makes it possible for them to communicate with each other.
  T-Band is the radio frequency that is set aside for these public 
safety officials so that they can talk to each other to keep all of us 
safe, all of us healthy. In 11 metropolitan areas, the T-Band system 
enables our courageous public safety personnel to work quickly and 
effectively during life-and-death situations.
  T-Band allows emergency medical service teams to relay important 
information about patients' conditions. T-Band permits 9-1-1 
dispatchers to send first responders to emergency scenes. Firefighters 
use T-Band to quickly coordinate strategy.
  After the Boston bombing, after the marathon bombing, first 
responders used T-Band to communicate with each other during the 
ensuing manhunt.
  This resource is nothing short of a lifesaver. T-Band really stands 
for ``trusted band.'' It is the resource public safety can rely upon.
  Unfortunately, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 
2012 required the Federal Communications Commission to begin to auction 
off the T-Band, the trusted band, by February of 2021, but it would 
cost between $5 billion and $6 billion for first responders--police and 
fire--to relocate from the T-Band. That is much more money than an 
auction of that spectrum would ever generate.
  Plus, for many first responders, there is simply no alternative to 
the T-Band; this is their only option. That is why this body must pass 
the Don't Break

[[Page S6017]]

Up the T-Band Act, which repeals the requirement that public safety 
stop using this spectrum.
  The heroes who jump into action when we need them shouldn't have to 
scramble to figure out how they will communicate with each other. They 
shouldn't be left in limbo.
  My legislation has support from an inspiring coalition of advocates 
and public safety groups. The International Association of Fire Chiefs, 
the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National 
Sheriffs' Association, the National League of Cities, the United States 
Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Counties, the 
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, the National 
Public Safety Telecommunications Council, and many others are demanding 
that we preserve the T-Band.
  These groups and the people they represent are not asking for a 
favor; they are just asking to be allowed to do their jobs effectively.
  I thank Leader Schumer for his partnership on this issue and his 
longstanding commitment to the public safety community. I also want to 
thank Ranking Member Cantwell and Ranking Member Schatz for their work 
and dedication to this effort.
  But don't just take our word for it. Listen to what the current 
Republican chairman of the Federal Communications Commission recently 
said about T-Band. Earlier this year, Chairman Ajit Pai stated: ``An 
FCC auction of the T-Band is a bad idea.''
  This is not a partisan issue. It is a public safety imperative. There 
is no cost associated with stopping the T-Band auction, and Congress 
must ensure that the people who step up to keep us safe are taken care 
of.
  If we fail to act, the FCC will have no choice but to move forward 
and strip this resource from our first responders. To allow that to 
happen during a public health crisis like the one we face today would 
be reckless.
  First responders already face enormous strain economically and 
enormous pressure to address the pandemic, as well as deadly natural 
disasters across the country. The last thing we should be doing is 
saddling them with millions or billions of dollars in costs to 
needlessly alter their critical communications system.
  Congress can no longer drag its feet. We have run out of time. The 
FCC has called on this body to stop the T-Band auction, but the 
Commission has no choice but to start laying the groundwork to auction 
the T-Band. We can and we must resolve this problem today. Today is the 
day to do it.
  Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent 
that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be 
discharged from further consideration of H.R. 451 and that the Senate 
proceed to its immediate consideration. I further ask that the bill be 
read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Wyoming
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I am here 
today to object to this unanimous consent request on behalf of the 
junior Senator from Texas, Senator Cruz.
  As the Senator from Massachusetts knows, Senator Cruz is also deeply 
interested in this issue. Both Senators have complementary pieces of 
legislation. They have had the language of their legislation agreed to 
unanimously by both the majority and the minority of the Commerce 
Committee.
  So I would ask the Senator from Massachusetts to reach out to the 
Senator from Texas, and I understand he is fully willing to work with 
the Senator from Massachusetts on amending the House bill to ensure 
that it passes the Senate with the Cruz amendment that would not be 
objectionable to supporters of this bill.
  As a result, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I just think that we are missing an 
enormous opportunity here. It is a shame the Senate is not acting with 
the urgency it needs in order to help our brave men and women who are 
first responders in our country.
  We can work on issues of spectrum going to the private sector. We can 
do that in a separate bill, and we can do it together. But, here, we 
have an opportunity to help our first responders, the brave men and 
women who every day risk their lives, and we have to make sure they 
have the spectrum they need to communicate.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.