[House Report 119-195]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 119-195
======================================================================
PRECISION AGRICULTURE SATELLITE CONNECTIVITY ACT
_______
July 10, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Guthrie, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1618]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1618) 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 with an amendment and
recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Committee Action................................................. 2
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Oversight Findings and Recommendations........................... 3
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 3
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 3
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 4
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 4
Related Committee and Subcommittee Hearings...................... 4
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 5
Earmark, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits....... 5
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 5
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Precision Agriculture Satellite
Connectivity Act''.
SEC. 2. PRECISION AGRICULTURE SATELLITE CONNECTIVITY.
(a) Review.--The Commission shall--
(1) review the rules of the Commission relating to fixed
satellite service, mobile satellite service, and earth
exploration satellite service to determine if there are rule
changes that the Commission could implement under existing
authority to promote precision agriculture; and
(2) if the Commission determines under paragraph (1) that
there are rule changes that the Commission could implement,
develop recommendations for how to implement the changes.
(b) Report.--Not later than 15 months after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the 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 on the results of
the review conducted under subsection (a), including any
recommendations developed under paragraph (2) of such subsection.
(c) Commission Defined.--In this section, the term ``Commission''
means the Federal Communications Commission.
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 1618, the Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity
Act, was introduced by Representative Robert E. Latta (R-OH) on
February 26, 2025. The bill 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 of 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
The Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing in the
development of the legislation during the 119th Congress. On
January 23, 2025, the Subcommittee on Communications and
Technology held a hearing entitled, ``Strengthening American
Leadership in Wireless Technology.'' The Subcommittee received
testimony from the following witnesses:
Mr. Michael K. Powell, President & CEO,
NCTA--The Internet & Television Association;
Mr. Brad Gillen, Executive Vice President,
CTIA--The Wireless Association;
Ms. Diane Rinaldo, Executive Director, Open
RAN Policy Coalition; and
Mr. Chris Lewis, President & CEO, Public
Knowledge.
On March 4, 2025, the full Committee on Energy and Commerce
met in open markup session and adopted an amendment in the
nature of a substitute by voice vote, and then ordered H.R.
1618, as amended, favorably reported to the House by voice
vote.
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. There were no record votes taken in connection with
order H.R. 1618 reported.
OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Pursuant to clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII, the Committee held hearings 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. 1618 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, the following is
the cost estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office
pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
H.R. 1618 would require the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to review its rules concerning fixed, mobile,
and earth exploration satellite service and recommend changes
that would promote precision agriculture. The bill would
require the FCC to report to the Congress on that review and
any associated recommendations within 15 months of enactment.
Using information from the FCC, CBO expects that it would
need five part-time employees, at an average cost of $195,000
per person to review the relevant rules and report to the
Congress. On that basis, CBO estimates that it would cost the
agency $1 million over the 2025-2030 period to implement the
bill. However, because the FCC is authorized to collect fees
each year sufficient to offset the appropriated costs of its
regulatory activities, CBO estimates that the net cost to the
FCC would be negligible, assuming appropriation actions
consistent with that authority.
If the FCC increased fees to offset the costs associated
with implementing the bill, H.R. 1618 would increase the cost
of an existing mandate on private entities required to pay
those fees. CBO estimates that the incremental cost of that
mandate would be small and fall below the annual threshold
established in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) for
private-sector mandates ($203 million in 2025, adjusted
annually for inflation).
H.R. 1618 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined
in UMRA.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Zunara Naeem
(for federal costs) and Rachel Austin (for mandates). The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director
of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
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. 1618 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. 1618:
On January 23, 2025, the Subcommittee on Communications and
Technology held a hearing. The title of the hearing was
``Strengthening American Leadership in Wireless Technology.''
The Subcommittee received testimony from the following
witnesses:
Mr. Michael K. Powell, President & CEO,
NCTA--The Internet & Television Association;
Mr. Brad Gillen, Executive Vice President,
CTIA--The Wireless Association;
Ms. Diane Rinaldo, Executive Director, Open
RAN Policy Coalition; and
Mr. Chris Lewis, President & CEO, Public
Knowledge.
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.
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. 1618 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) 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.
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