[House Report 118-42]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress }                                                {  Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session   }                                                {  118-42

======================================================================



 
            PRECISION AGRICULTURE SATELLITE CONNECTIVITY ACT

                                _______
                                

 April 25, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mrs. Rodgers of Washington, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1339]

    The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1339) to require the Federal Communications 
Commission to review certain rules of the Commission and 
develop recommendations for rule changes to promote precision 
agriculture, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Committee Action.................................................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Oversight Findings and Recommendations...........................     5
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     5
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................     5
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     5
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     5
Related Committee and Subcommittee Hearings......................     5
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................     6
Earmark, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits.......     6
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     6
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     6
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     6
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............     7

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H.R. 1339 requires the Federal Communications Commission 
(FCC) to review its rules regarding certain satellite 
communications services to determine if changes to its rules 
could promote precision agriculture. If the FCC determines that 
there are rule changes that could be made under the FCC's 
existing authority to promote precision agriculture, the FCC 
must develop recommendations and submit them to Congress within 
15 months of enactment.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Precision agriculture allows for the optimization of crop 
yield, water usage, and soil sustainability. Unfortunately, 
many rural communities have little or no connectivity, thereby 
reducing the ability for many farmers to utilize precision 
agriculture. Additionally, there are earth exploration and 
observation services authorized by the FCC that could promote 
precision agriculture. These satellite technologies offer the 
opportunity to expand the use of precision agriculture 
throughout the United States, and this legislation would 
require the FCC to evaluate its rules to see if there are 
changes that can be made to promote this deployment.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    On February 2, 2023, the Subcommittee on Communications and 
Technology held a hearing entitled, ``Launching Into the State 
of the Satellite Marketplace.'' The Subcommittee received 
testimony from:
           Tom Stroup, President, Satellite Industry 
        Association
           Julie Zoller, Head of Global Regulatory 
        Affairs, Project Kuiper at Amazon
           Jennifer A. Manner, Senior Vice President of 
        Regulatory Affairs, Echostar Corporation
           Margo Deckard, Co-Founder and Chief 
        Operating Officer, Lynk Global, Inc.
           Kari Bingen, Director of the Aerospace 
        Security Project and Senior Fellow at the International 
        Security Program, Center for Strategic and 
        International Studies.
    On February 8, 2023, the Subcommittee on Communications and 
Technology held a hearing entitled, ``Liftoff: Unleashing 
Innovation in Satellite Communications Technologies.'' The 
Subcommittee received testimony on H.R. 1339 from:
           David Goldman, Senior Director of Satellite 
        Policy, SpaceX
           Peter Davidson, Vice President of Global 
        Government Affairs & Policy, Intelsat
           Whitney Q. Lohmeyer, Professor of 
        Engineering, Olin College of Engineering
           Danielle Pineres, Vice President of 
        Regulatory Affairs & Compliance, Planet Labs
    On March 8, 2023, the Subcommittee on Communications and 
Technology met in open markup session and forwarded H.R. 1339, 
without amendment, to the full Committee by a record vote of 27 
yeas and 0 nays. On March 23, 2023, the full Committee on 
Energy and Commerce met in open markup session and ordered H.R. 
1339, without amendment, favorably reported to the House by a 
record vote of 46 yeas and 0 nays.

                            COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the 
record votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments 
thereto. The following reflects the record votes taken during 
the Committee consideration:


                 OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII, the Committee held (a) hearing(s) and made findings 
that are reflected in this report.

   NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII, the Committee 
finds that H.R. 1339 would result in no new or increased budget 
authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or 
revenues.

                  CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII, at the time this 
report was filed, the cost estimate prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was not available.

                       FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

         STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general 
performance goal or objective of this legislation is to require 
the Federal Communications Commission to review its rules 
regarding certain satellite communications services to 
determine whether any changes could be made to promote 
precision agriculture, and if so, develop and submit 
recommendations to Congress on the rule changes that could 
promote precision agriculture.

                    DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, no provision of 
H.R 1339 is known to be duplicative of another Federal program, 
including any program that was included in a report to Congress 
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the most recent 
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

              RELATED COMMITTEE AND SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII, the following 
hearings were used to develop or consider H.R. 1339:
    On February 2, 2023, the Subcommittee on Communications and 
Technology held a hearing entitled, ``Launching Into the State 
of the Satellite Marketplace.'' The Subcommittee received 
testimony from:
           Tom Stroup, President, Satellite Industry 
        Association
           Julie Zoller, Head of Global Regulatory 
        Affairs, Project Kuiper at Amazon
           Jennifer A. Manner, Senior Vice President of 
        Regulatory Affairs, Echostar Corporation
           Margo Deckard, Co-Founder and Chief 
        Operating Officer, Lynk Global, Inc.
           Kari Bingen, Director of the Aerospace 
        Security Project and Senior Fellow at the International 
        Security Program, Center for Strategic an International 
        Studies.
    On February 8, 2023, the Subcommittee on Communications and 
Technology held a hearing entitled, ``Liftoff: Unleashing 
Innovation in Satellite Communications Technologies.'' The 
Subcommittee received testimony on H.R. 1339 from:
           David Goldman, Senior Director of Satellite 
        Policy, SpaceX
           Peter Davidson, Vice President of Global 
        Government Affairs & Policy, Intelsat
           Whitney Q. Lohmeyer, Professor of 
        Engineering, Olin College of Engineering
           Danielle Pineres, Vice President of 
        Regulatory Affairs & Compliance, Planet Labs

                        COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the Committee 
adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. At the time this report was 
filed, the estimate was not available.

       EARMARK, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS

    Pursuant to clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI, the 
Committee finds that H.R. 1339 contains no earmarks, limited 
tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits.

                      ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

             SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section. 1. Short title

    This section designates that the short title may be cited 
as the ``Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act.''

Section. 2. Precision agriculture satellite connectivity

    Subsection (a) requires the Federal Communications 
Commission (the Commission), in consultation with its Precision 
Agriculture Task Force, to (1) review the rules of the 
Commission relating to fixed satellite service, mobile 
satellite service, and earth exploration satellite service to 
determine whether there are any changes to its rules that could 
promote precision agriculture; and (2) if the Commission 
identifies such changes, to develop recommendations for how to 
implement those changes.
    Subsection (b) requires the Commission to submit, not later 
than 15 months after the date of enactment, a report to the 
House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on the results of the 
review conducted under subsection (a), including any 
recommendations.
    Subsection (c) defines key terms.

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    This legislation does not amend any existing Federal 
statute.