Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Friday afternoon that he intends to lift his hold on the nominations of Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai to the Federal Communications Commission after receiving access to documents regarding the agency's decision in the LightSquared matter. Grassley once again criticized the FCC's handling of both LightSquared's initial application for a proposed wireless broadband network on satellite spectrum and the agency's response to his inquiries on the matter.
Expect Rosenworcel and Pai to be confirmed in the near future, potentially right after next week's recess. But the LightSquared matter is far from over. Grassley and other Republicans are likely to press the FCC to explain in detail why it granted the company a preliminary waiver, before tests revealed interference with GPS devices. The FCC has subsequently withdrawn its waiver and LightSquared is said to be considering bankruptcy as its partners walk away.
Quotable: "The FCC badly mishandled LightSquared. Finding out exactly what went wrong is key toward preventing future debacles. I hope the pending nominees, and the rest of the commission, will use the LightSquared situation as a case study in what not to do." -- Sen. Chuck Grassley House Subpanel Funds Global Hawk Drones: CQ's Eugene Mulero reports the House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee approved a portion of the fiscal 2013 defense policy bill (HR 4310) that would add about $260 million to the Pentagon's request in order to keep the Block 30 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance drones in the air until at least the end of 2014. The Global Hawk program is expected to take center stage during the full Armed Services Committee markup of the defense bill on May 9. The Senate Armed Services Committee has markups scheduled for its version of the bill for the week of May 21. House Passes Cybersecurity R&D Measures: CQ's Joanna Anderson reports the House wrapped up Cybersecurity Week by passing a pair of bipartisan bills aimed at bolstering cybersecurity research and education programs. The first (HR 2096) would require federal agencies to develop a plan to guide the overall direction of federal cybersecurity research and development efforts. The bill would also reauthorize cybersecurity programs at the National Science Foundation and direct the National Institute of Technology and Standards to develop cybersecurity standards for the federal government. The second bill (HR 3834) passed by a voice vote and would define new areas for cyber R&D. FCC Fights Cramming: The Federal Communications Commission continued its crusade to end cramming, the practice of placing fraudulent unauthorized charges on a consumer's monthly phone bill, at Friday's open meeting. The new rules require carriers to notify subscribers at multiple junctures of the option to block third-party charges from their landline telephone bills. The also require third-party charges to be separated from the phone company's charges. The Commission is still considering adopting additional protections; Consumers Union called for the FCC to extend the cramming protections to wireless and VoIP users. Senate Commerce chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has also promised legislation to stop cramming. FCC Requires Broadcasters to Post Public Files Online: CQ's Ambreen Ali reports the FCC approved new regulations on Friday requiring broadcasters to publish political advertising data online. TV stations already are required to track purchases of political advertising in their public files, but the new rules require that information to be published online, which should greatly enhance the public's access. Broadcast stations in the top 50 markets will be required to post data on new ad buys this year, with smaller stations expected to follow in 2014.The FCC estimated compliance costs for stations would be less than $400 each, but Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell dissented, arguing the cost for stations could run much higher. The broadcasters respectfully disagreed with the FCC's decision, arguing the rules would impose a burden on stations unique to the broadcast medium. Supporters have argued the measure should make it easier to determine who is funding political advertising.
A busy meeting also saw the Commission continue its overhaul of the Universal Service Fund by seeking comment on the contribution system. The USF is funded through a tax on consumers' phone bills, which has drawn criticism from lawmakers. The FCC also took an initial step toward establishing a regulatory framework for channel sharing among TV stations that agree to relinquish spectrum in the upcoming auctions.
McAfee CTO Says Proactive Security is Key: CQ's Rob Margetta reports McAfee Worldwide chief technology officer Stuart McClure told a House Homeland Security subcommittee Wednesday that the time has come for cybersecurity solutions to shift from reactive to proactive. McClure referred to security be design, which means building security into hardware, software and networks as they are developed. The concept has gained steam among cybersecurity experts, who argue the government could help speed the trend by deploying the considerable purchasing muscle that comes with its $80 billion annual IT budget. This post was updated to add McAfee link at 3:05 p.m.