under the trump administration's federal communications commission commission. for internet providers they can discriminate against specific content on the internet and be free to do so in the name of competition. for consumers, it means less service, higher costs, and for entrepreneurs and small businesses there's also a risk. i had a meeting this morning with the realtors of illinois. there were about 20 of them. there was a committee meeting. they said the first item on the agenda is net neutrality. i said realtors, net neutrality. i said, explain. well, people now are looking at homes on the internet. perspective homes do video tours of these homes. we want our customers to have access to the internet so they can go shopping for their next home. we think it's good for american business. so do i, but not the federal communications commission. the internet has given the businesses not only abscess to customers but a global reach and ability to compete with companies large and small. success isn't determined on how rich your business is. it's how good your pro

when the federal communications commission decision takes effect on june 11, big telecom will have new tools to inflate profits. but americans and small businesses who use the internet to do their jobs, communicate with each other, participate in civic life will be left defenseless. and don't be fooled by the army of lobbyists marching the halls of congress on behalf of the big internet service providers. they say that we don't need these rules because the internet service providers will self-regulate blocking, throttling, paid prioritization. these harms are alarmist and hypothetical, they say. well, that simply is not the case. these practices are very real. and in a world without net neutrality, they may become the new normal. but just don't take my word for it. let's look at the facts. in 2007, an associated press investigation found that comcast was blocking or severely slowing down bit torrent, a website that allowed consumers to share video, music, and video game files. from 2007 to 2009, at&t forced apple to block skype and other competing services from using at&t's wireless ne

we need anna gomez on the federal communications commission. she has the knowledge, the values, the judgment that the commission needs. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting her nomination. i yield back, mr. president. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question is on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call. the clerk: ms. baldwin. the clerk: mr. barrasso. mr. bennet. mrs. blackburn. mr. blumenthal. mr. booker. mr. boozman. mr. braun. mrs. britt. the clerk: mr. brown. the clerk: mr. brown. mr. budd. ms. cantwell. mrs. capito. mr. cardin. mr. casey. mr. cassidy. ms. collins. le mr. coons. -- mr. coons. the clerk: mr. cassidy. ms. collins. mr. coons. mr. cornyn. ms. cortez masto. mr. cotton. mr. cramer. mr. crapo. mr. cruz. mr. daines. ms. duckworth. mr. durbin. ms. ernst. mrs. feinstein. mr. fetterman. mrs. fischer. mrs. gillibrand. mr. graham. mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven.

got to do is pass the markey resolution and ensure there's a real position that the federal communications commission -- at the federal communications commission that has some teeth. and the fact of the matter is, since he came to town -- since he came to this position, mr. pai has basically tried to water this whole effort at net neutrality down again and again. we don't need title 2 protections, we don't need any of the basics that have been part of this effort that we have made for well over a decade to ensure that net neutrality has real teeth. my friend and colleague mentioned that he introduced the first one in the house, i introduced the first one in the senate, but the point is, we have been working for this for well over a decade in both chambers. and one of the reasons that we sought to take this action now is not only is mr. pai moving ahead to offer this ominous, dangerous definition of net neutrality, is we believe that there is going to be a grassroots juggernaut all across the country saying that now is the time to be in touch with your members of congress and let them know how strongl

this is where the trump federal communications commission could hand big cable companies more power and take more money out of the pockets of the american people next month. mr. president, i'm very appreciative of my colleague, ed markey, for the extraordinary leadership role he has taken. he and i have enjoyed teaming up since the days when we began in public service. senator markey was then congressman markey, and he introduced the first net neutrality bill in the house, and i had the honor of partnering with him when i introduced the first net neutrality bill in the senate. and both of us said literally more than a decade ago, we needed communications policies that were rooted in the principle of nondiscrimination, transparency, openness, and freedom for all online. and here we are, back in this fight once again, and passing the markey resolution, which in effect ensures that what my colleague's sponsor today sought to do a decade ago and i partnered with him on actually gets done. now everybody understands that you have to pay a fee to get access to the net. the question at the hear

second, the federal communications commission must require callers to block unverified calls, fake calls, something the commission has yet to do. and third, we need to increase from one year to three years the time for the federal communications commission to pursue penalties for robocallers that intentionally violate the rules. that is the recipe for success. and that is what the traced act does. this bill we will vote on today has enormous support across the country. 54 state and territory attorneys general, all of the commissioners at the federal communications commission, and at the federal trade commission, major industry associations, and leading consumer groups endorse the legislation and agree that the traced act is an essential weapon in combating the rise of illegal fraudulent robocalls. senator thune and i are joined by over 80 of our colleagues in support of this bill. this is not a liberal or a conservative issue. it is in -- it is an a everyone issue. it affects the elderly, the young, the small business owner and the student, our grandparents, our naishes, our teachers --

that is what the job of chair of the federal communications commission is all about.it's standing up for all of those core principles that our country believes in. she has made it very clear that she does believe that title 2 of the communications act is something that can be and must be used in order to ensure that we give full protections to broadband users in our -- in our country now more than ever we need strong leadership at the federal communications commission. as senator cantwell was just speaking, we have 12 million to 17 million children in the united states who did not have the internet during the first year of the covid crisis and we were able to build in huge funding that has reduced dramatically the number of children who have, who do not have the internet at home but more work must be done. and the best way to do it is to add even more money into the build back better bill. and if we do that, we will see that we are dealing with the fact that especially black and brown and immigrant children in our country have access to the tools which they are going

and it directs the federal communications commission to convene a working group to address the problem of illegal robocalls being made to hospitals. there are numerous stories of hospital telephone lines be flooded, disrupting critical lines of communication literally for hours. this can't be allowed to go on. mr. president, i want to thank senator markey for partnering with me and my house colleagues for advancing this legislation. i'm proud of the bipartisan support that our bill has received in both houses of the congress. one last step remains before the we can get this bill to the president's desk, and that is senate passage of the final bill. i'm hoping we can get that done in the coming days so that we can get this bill to the president before christmas. while the traced act may not eliminate all of the robocalls that americans receive, it will go a long way toward making it safe to answer your phone again. i look forward to seeing this legislation signed into law in the very near future. mr. president, i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding offic

the clerk: nomination, federal communications commission, nathan a. simington of virginia to be a member. mr. thune: madam president, i rise today to recognize and pay tribute to two senators whom i had hoped to serve with longer. cory gardner and martha mcsally. madam president, one of the first things that became clear about cory gardner when he became to the senate is that he is an incredibly hard worker. he is tireless. cory has not only a great sense of humor, i remember back during impeachment when we were working some really late nights, he left five-hour energy drinks for all of us in our mailboxes. i got to say, madam president, you kind of needed a five-hour energy drink to keep up with cory. seriously, though, cory has a tremendous amount of energy and focus and drive. he's left it all on the field during his time in the senate. i think he knew when he was elected that he might not be here forever and he has made every moment over the past six years count. he's a results oriented person. he's interested in getting things done. and he's buil

a much better alternative would be to put the federal communications commission in charge of disbursing broadband funds. in contrast to ntia, which is just 157 employees, the federal communications commission employs more than 1,400 people. it has the staffing resource it needs in house to administer this grant program. the f.c.c. also crucially has the necessary expertise to identify truly unserved areas so that federal dollars go to communities with the most significant lack of broadband access. mr. president, i propose an amendment to the infrastructure legislation before us that would strike the ntia grant program and redirect that money to bipartisan legislation that i have introduced, the rural connectivity advancement program act. the rural connectivity advancement program act would mandate the net 10% of any proceeds mandated by the federal government go to building out broadband networks with the goal of strengthening connectivity in rural and tribal areas. redirecting the proposed $42 billion in grants to this program would allow the federal communications commission to admini

every telephone provider must register with the database at the federal communications commission. and companies that are not yet implemented the caller id verification system must submit a plan for addressing illegal robocalls. last week the fcc took an important step to begin removing 20 noncompliant companies from the robocall mitigation database. some of the companies filings were laughable. here's one. here's one of the filings right here. pretty simple to see. it's a blank piece of paper. that is what they have submitted in terms of their compliance with the law. another filing was a picture of the companies logo. another provider submitted a document that said nothing in capital letters on the sheet of paper, on the website. nothing. i'm glad the fcc has launched enforcement proceedings against these obviously problematic filings. and i appreciate the ideas that ms. saunders has suggested further strengthening the robocall mitigation database. i look forward to continuing to work with the commission and my colleagues on this issue. it goes right to the heart of the issue tha

and it only rebounded when the federal communications commission under chairman pai rolled back these heavy-handed regulations. second, the united states still has more work to do to deploy the infrastructure necessary for 5g. while 4g relies on take decisional cell phone towers, 5g technology will also require small antennas called small cells that can often be attached to existing infrastructure like utility poles or buildings. last year i introduced legislation, the streamline act, to make it easier for companies to deploy these small cells so that we can get the infrastructure in place for 5g technology. we also need to update federal regulations to ensure that it doesn't take months or years to get permits for wireless infrastructure. madam president, infrastructure is a key part of the 5g equation. the other key part is spectrum. like all internet technology, 5g relies on radio spectrum, what we commonly call the airwaves. radio spectrum is divided into bands, low band, mid band, and high band. and 5g will rely upon all three. the united states has done a good job freeing up hig

will work on compiling these responses and present stakeholders' concerns to ntia, the federal communications commission, department of agriculture and the treasury department. if changes need to be made to the programs congress established, i will do everything that i can to hold congress and federal agencies accountable for making those changes so that all of these programs work as effectively as possible and as congress intended. mr. president, to expand rural broadband access and actuall close the digital divide it's not enough to just appropriate money. we also need to make sure that money is spent in the right way. i am committed to doing everything i can to ensure that the money appropriated for rural broadband actually goes to expanding access to those who are currently unserved. mr. president, i yield the floor. mrs. murray: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington state. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. i have had the honor over the past several years to lead the health, education, labor and pensions committee. it is a committee that i truly feel represents the h

unfortunately, some leaders at the federal communications commission disagree. despite being given the responsibility to make sure that they operate in the public interest, when it came to our nation's communications networks, the f.c.c. in december walked away from this important responsibility and decided to put the needs of companies ahead of customers. it appears with this administration that everything's for sale. that means public lands, our privacy, and in this case the pathway that american families use every single day to get on the internet. led by chairman pai, the f.c.c. voted for a radical plan in december to dismantle net neutrality rules and threaten the existence of a free and open internet as we know it today. this new plan will allow large internet providers the power to freely block, throttle or manipulate a consumer's access to the internet in ways that profit the provider. think about your access to apps and the internet today. compare it to your access to cable channels. if you want more channels, you put in more money. today the internet i

federal communications commission nathan a. simington of virgia to be a member. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: cture mion, we, the undersigned senators in accordce with the provisions of the senate do hereby move tes bring to a close debate on the nomination of nathan a. simington of virginia to be a member of e federal communications commission signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask csent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding ofcer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. he. a senator: mr. president, e we in a quorum call? the presiding office

the federal communications commission under the chairman modernized its regulations for the approvalsmall cells but more work can be done to expedite small cell deployment. the streamline act focuses on updating current law to better reflect emerging technology and to speed up permitting while respecting the role of state and local governments in making deployment decisions. mr. president, adequate spectrum and the ability to efficiently deploy infrastructure are essential for building out strong u.s. 5g networks. but there is another key part of the equation, and that's having a sufficient workforce to meet the demands of 5g deployment and later 5g maintenance. that's why i have introduced the telecommunications skilled workforce act. my bill would help increase the number of workers enrolled in 5g training programs and identify ways to grow the telecommunications workforce to meet the demands of 5g. mr. president, as a resident of a rural state, expanding broadband access in rural areas has long been a priority of mine here in the united states senate. we have made a lot of progres

colleagues support called the freedom of the internet act that goes further than what the federal communications commission system has done to implement true net neutrality. i would prefer that, and maybe in the future my colleagues will be working on such legislation, but as it is today, the federal communications commission has taken a halfstep, if you will, by proposing some rules that will set in place some protections for consumers to make sure that they are protected on important aspects of keeping internet costs down. the problem with the f.c.c. rules is that they only apply in some cases to fixed broadband and not to mobile broadband, so if you think about it this way, the entire internet is moving to a mobile broadband platform. that is our hand held devices, whether they are blackberries or phones or what have you. so many more americans are accessing the internet that way. so the f.c.c. has come up with rules on transparency and no blocking. that is to make sure that no content is blocked or slowed down for any undue cost or reason or nondiscrimination rule. unfortunately, those two last points,

listen to what the current republican chairman of the federal communications commission recently said about t-bands. earlier this year chairman ajit pai stated, quote, an f.c.c. 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 f.c.c. 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, 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 communication system. congress can no longer drag its feet. we have run out of time. the f.c.c. has called on this body to stop the t-band auction, but the commi

in this case, the federal communication commission's actions have real-world effects. the f.c.c.'s decision to grant a waiver to light square created uncertainties for g.p.s. users, and that includes our own national defense agency, the department of defense. and other federal agencies. another one is the federal aviation administration claims that 800 people would die as a result of light square's initial proposed network. to the f.a.a., the f.c.c.'s decision could have killed people. the department of defense wrote a letter that the f.c.c. -- to the f.c.c. saying that it was not consulted by the f.c.c. and press reports say that the general skeleton, who heads up g.p.s. for the armed forces, says that light square's interference would harm the military's use of g.p.s. to the department of defense, the federal communication commission's actions would have harmed national security. these are only two agencies, but the department of transportati transportation, nasa, noaa, among others, have also raised concerns about light square's plan. the effects of the f.c.c.'s decision aren'

and it directs the federal communications commission to convene a working group to address the issue of illegal calls being made to hospitals. which disrupts critical lines of communications for hours. will the traced act completely solve the problem of illegal robocalls? no, but it will go a long way toward making it safe to answer your phone again. and it will help ensure that those who exploit vulnerable individuals face punishment for the their actions. i am grateful to senator markey for partnering with me. "the washington post" praised the traced act as an example of, i quote, good, old-fashioned legislating, end quote. and i am proud of the bipartisan support it received from both houses of congress. i look forward to monitoring the implementation of the traced act and continuing to work to protect americans from illegal and abusive robocalls. madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. peters: i ask that i and senator johnson are able to complete our remarks prior to the cloture vote. the presiding offi

i was very encouraged by the federal communications commission's recent announcement that it will invest $705 billion over the next decade to bring broadband to rural areas in south dakota that currently go without but there's more work to be done. i'm committed to pushing this issue until reliable broadband access is standard in rural america. during the last week of the august break, i brought the commerce committee to sioux falls to conduct a field hearing on rural broadband. we brought an fcc commissioner with us so he could hear directly from south dakota yafns who -- dakotaians who were on the front lines and leading the innovations that come along with it. it was a great hearing and i'm very encouraged by the progress we're making on the issue. i look forward to doing more work on this issue in the coming months. madam president, i'm energized by the time that i spent with south dakotans during the august break, and i'm looking forward to continuing to fight for south dakota's priorities here in washington this fall. madam president, before i close, i want to take a minute to reco

former federal reserve chair looks at the 2008 financial crisis and some of the current risks she sees in the financial markets. on c-span 2, it's the communicators, with federal communications commission chair, on key issues facing the fcc, including spectrum sales that allow 5 g innovation. and on c-span 3, it's american history tv, with programs from a recent conference hosted by the national world war ii museum in new orleans. >>> sunday, on q and a, "wall street journal" columnist talks about his work and politics during the trump era. >> i think his politics are primarily he wants to be the center of attention. i don't think he's a racist. i think the way he looks at people, everyone is either a friend or an enemy and you can change categories very easily. he holds no grudges. but you know, i think his ideas about -- the america first thing is an idea i think he holds dear, that our country has been shortchanged in his daelings with the rest of the world -- in his dealings with the rest of the world and that reflects in trade policy and immigration policy, in the minds of many of his supporters in middle america have hurt them and their economic prospects, that is to a degree a s

clerk: resolve, that the bill from the senate, s. 1822, entitled an act to require the federal communications commission to issue rules related to the collection of data with respect to the availability of broadband services and for other purposes do pass with an amendment. mr. wicker: and now, i move to concur in the house amendment and i ask unanimous consent that the motion be agreed to and that the motion to reconsider be considered laid made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. wicker: thank you, madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from from ohio. mr. braun: thank you, madam president. i want to thank my colleague, senator -- let me start again. i want to thank my colleague, senator durbin, for leading efforts this week to undo betsy devos' harmful rollback of protections for millions of americans with loans ripped off by shady for-profit colleges. this is an example where the senate stood up to the president, stood up to the billionaire secretary of education whose mission in that job is to privatize and turn big --

during the obama administration the federal communications commission, on a party-line vote decided to change the way in which the internet was regulated. instead of the regulatory approach that had worked for years, the obama f.c.c. decided that the it should be regulated under a set of regulations that were developed over 80 years ago to manage monopoly telephone services. think of that, mr. president. the 1934 communications act designed to govern and regulate ma bell being used to regulate the internet. that decision posed a number of problems for the future of the internet. for starters, heavy-handed government regulations tend to stifle the kind of growth and innovation that have always flourished around the internet. there was also serious reason to be concerned that this new regulatory regime would discourage companies from expanding access to broadband. that's a big concern for my state where too many individuals still lack reliable internet service. and in fact, the f.c.c. found that the decision to regulate the internet under the 1934 telephone regulatory regime has, in fact

communications act of 1996. he went on to serve with distinction as the commission of the federal communications commission and over the years he has been a thoughtful advisor to me on many issues. i also want to thank the hudson institute and its exceptional scholars and work including my friend and predecessor former fcc commissioner rob mcdowelmcdowel l. as has been previously mentioned i'm the newest fcc commissioner. i was fortunate enough to be confirmed alongside her new chairman tom wheeler. in our short 10 years we both have come to be known for certain taglines and have mounted further questioning. is this then is it competition and mine has been freedom. the chairman has on a number of occasions articulated what he means by his term. today i would like to explain more about what i mean by mine. i bring to this position a core belief that the most enduring value of america is freedom. our nation began with a desire to be free from the paternalistic monarchy. to reserve these freedoms our forefathers embedded in the constitution certain protections to ensure that if the government does not abuse its power

they even wrote to the federal communications commission asking that the agency hold off on its vote to eliminate the net neutrality rules which the republican chairman and the f.c.c. majority promptly ignor ignored. and the f.c.c. is refusing to even work with law enforcement to get to the bottom of this issue. shouldn't the fact that there are russian buts and people directed by the kremlin trying to influence our government processes, shouldn't that be something that we ought to be working with law enforcement? well, mr. president, i'm going to continue to raise this issue over and over, whether it's this agency's, the f.c.c.'s rule making or if it is other agencies' rule making which is chronicled in this "wall street journal" article that has been inserted in the record, this is deadly serious business because this is our democracy. we have to have the ability to operate in good faith that information that we are getting is accurate information. and when we see this kind of evidence, we know there is a flaw in the system, and that flaw might actually have its source in the name

we will work closely with the federal communications commission to ensure consistency in the governance review of the transaction to protect competition and promote consumer welfare in a vibrant telecommunications and media market. mr. chairman, this concludes my remarks and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much, and i will start with questioning. you have both gone to great lengths to explain your separate roles, that where you can, with waivers, talk to each other. and i want to sort of make that clear, because the fcc assesses the court public interest standard in the communications act. and the d.o.j. considers mergers under the clayton act, which is a different matter. they're looking for substantially less competition or unattended a 10, tendency to create monopoly. and franco, i'm thinking back after 9/11, the first bill that the congress passed was a like the cia and the fbi to talk to each other. and it was one of -- it was embarrassing that we had to do that because it was embarrassing that they couldn't talk to each other. and just all of a sudden everythin

today the federal communications commission defines broadband service as having a threshold download speed nearly 500 times faster. many areas of our country, particularly our rural communities, simply do not have the infrastructure to achieve these speeds and fully tap into the opportunities that digital connectivity can deliver. according to a 2019 pew research center survey, nearly 37% of rural americans lack a broadband connection compared to 25% of urban americans. similarly, disparities occur in terms of broadband adoption. that is, the rate at which americans subscribe to broadband service once they have access to it. the survey also found that 15% of rural americans don't use the internet at home compared to just 9% of urban americans. madam president, the current pandemic has brought these connectivity challenges into stark focus as many families have had to move their education, their workplaces, their health care services online. andrea powers, the town manager of fort fairfield in northern maine recently described a number of challenges in her community. students who have

we need the federal communications commission commissioners to commit to increasing diversity not just with words, but with actions. i will not support nominees for the fcc if they are unwilling to support diversity, including by acting in a way that denies a vote to a diverse applicant. they cannot argue that broadcast station owners should reflect their audiences publicly saying and i quote, this is the fcc, we need to do better. end quote. well, that's great, and then you miss the opportunities to expand diversity in broadcasting when it's before you. i have tried to address this issue head on in legislation, i will continue to follow that route as well. alongside senator peters, i introduced the broadcast voices act that would increase diversity by innovationings in our -- innovations in our tax code. it would ensure that women and minority-owned stations can compete on a level playing field to provide a benefit to audiences. it would re-establish a program in order to reincentivize broadcast ownership. i say that because congress has done this before. during the nearly two decades

julius genachowski of the federal communications commission, the hon. edith ramirez of the federal trade commission and lawrence strickland of the telecommunications and information administration. we welcome you back to the hearing room. you will be recognized for five minute and i'm sure you are familiar with the timers on the table. when the light turns yellow you have one minute left. as i have been at vonage make sure your microphone is on and close to your mouth. i am pleased to recognize commissioner ramirez for five minutes. >> thank you. ranking members butterfield and eshoo and members of the subcommittee i am edith ramirez of the federal trade commission. i appreciate the chance to present the testimony and internet privacy. personal information about consumers may be collected, sold and used in every interaction a consumer has. both online and offline. for instance a college freshman sits in her dorm room using the internet to research depression for paper she is writing for psychology class. when her research is done she applies online for

julius genachowski, he's the chairman of the federal communications commission. eing with us. >> it's great to be here. >> tell us just for everybody here live and watching online and reading online about what we are doing, what is the federal communications commission have to do with jobs? >> well, the federal communications commission has to do with jobs because we are the agency that's focused on our communication infrastructure. so in the 20th century, that was mostly telephone service and old tvs, and devices like that. and the 21st century, it's this new platform for innovation, and job creation, and economic growth called high speed internet. wired and wireless. that's the core mission of our agency. and the -- there's no bigger opportunity for economic growth and job creation in the 21st century than getting our high-speed internet infrastructure right for businesses, large and small, in the united states. >> well, let's talk about that. you've been making some moves just within the last few days, certainly over the last few months in that direction to shi

heavy-handed government of the internet reared its ugly head once again last week with the federal communication commission's announcement that it will consider a so-called net neutrality proposal at its october meeting coming up later this month. so what is net neutrality, mr. president? well, it's most basic level, it's the idea that internet service providers shouldn't prioritize or block certain internet traffic at the expense of others. understood in that way, it's a concept that enjoys broad support in both parties. but that's not what we're talking about with the biden fcc's net neutrality proposal. like the obama fcc before it, the biden fcc wants to assert broad new government powers over the internet using rules -- get this -- that were designed for telephone companies and monopolies back during the great depression. this is a quote from fcc chairwoman jessica rosen -- rosen worse sell last week. i quote. today there is no expert agency ensuring that the internet is fast, open, and fair, end quote, proving once again the democrats' faith in washington experts is undying and that nothing scares a de

simington to be a member of the federal communications commission. we definitely want the f.c.c. to focus on commonsense consumer protections, universal broadband, the survival of our news and local journalism industry as it faces unbelievable, unfair competition and practices by the tech sector, and we also want to make sure that the next president of the united states also gets to choose their member and representation to the f.c.c. the senate has a tradition of confirming commission nominees in paris to assure the equality of both sides of the aisle. moving this nominee without that democratic pairing, i think, is contrary to what we've usually operated under in good governance. every member of this body should be concerned about setting a precedent and what it'll mean in the future if we don't have essential consumer protections and oversight on this important institution. we need high-quality, affordable broadband to the underserved and to the unserved. that includes tribal country. we need to make sure that we are working hard as a result of the pandemic for people to need

while the federal communications commission under chairman pi has modernized its regulations under small cell siting, there is more work to be done. that's where my bill comes in. the streamline act will expedite the deployment of small cells while respecting the role of state and local governments in make deployment decisions, and importantly it will make it more affordable to bring 5g to rural areas by addressing the costs of small cell deployment. mr. president, 5g has tremendous promise for rural areas, but it will only deliver on that promise if we ensure that 5g cells are actually deployed in these areas. i'm proud that we have made a good start in south dakota. sioux falls' mayor has moved aggressively to remove barriers in communications investment in sioux falls. nationally, we urgently need to take action to remove the final barriers to large-scale 5g deployment. while we have made good progress on securing low and high-band spectrum, china and south korea are far ahead of us in opening up mid-band spectrum to 5g. if we don't want china or south korea to win the race to 5g and

it's been more than 1,500 days since the last federal communications commission hearing at the commerceee. the principal committee of jurisdiction over the fcc. in fact, we haven't had a single fcc oversight hearing since democrats took control of the senate back in 2021. and despite the ongoing failure of the bead program at the national telecommunications and information administration, we haven't held a single hearing on ntia yet in this congress. and while i understand that highlighting the failure of the biden-harris administration's signature broadband initiative is probably not high on democrats' priority list, our obligation to the american people and our concern for the millions of americans without broadband access should put bead oversight at the top of the commerce committee's agenda. mr. president, the bead program's failure certainly highlights the fact that vice president harris has been no more effective as broadband czar than she has been as border czar. it also points to a larger problem -- larger problems with progressivism, like big promises but poor results and the

despite all this, two years ago this week, the trump federal communications commission voted to throw out net neutrality at the behest of the broadband barons. since then, we have watched as countless citizens, companies, activists have continued to stand up and demand that net neutrality be restored. this spring the house of representatives took an important step in passing the save the internet act, my legislation in the senate that would overturn the trump administration's f.c.c.'s decision and restore net neutrality protections. in the senate, we've already successfully passed the same proposal on a bipartisan basis. in april of 2018, my congressional review act resolution passed in the senate by a bipartisan vote of 52-47. we debated net neutrality and the senate decided to join the majority of americans and support a free and open internet. in that vote, we sent a message to president trump about what that means. an internet free of corporate control and open to all who want to communicate, engage, and innovate. we made clear that this congress won't fall for president trump's s

we are also committed to the professionalism and the independence of the federal communications commission and the anti-frus division. anti- -- antitrust division. antitrust is not democratic or republican issues. they are consumer issues. we can agree robust -- in light of the consensus the enormous consequence of lax antitrust enforcement and the current merger wave, these issues require our urgent attention. our economy in terms of nominal g.d.p. has increased between 2010 and 2017. filings have almost doubled during that time. at the same time our antitrust agency budgets have been held flat. as a result, agencies are only able to take on seriously cases involving the most highly concentrated markets. this limits the attention that they pay to closer or more difficult cases. despite these constraints, agencies are doing what they can but we need to do more. giving agencies the resources to pursue the harder cases will pay real dividends on our economy. when i say resources, i also mean legal tools necessary to protect competition. when it comes to mergers, the protections in the clayto

federal communications act of 1934, we do. we all do. the american people do. now, the federal government, through the federal communications commission and other agencies, including but not limited to congress, regulates those radio waves going through the air, which we call spectrum. but those radio waves in the air through which they pass are owned by the american people. j, just like the oil and gas offshore in federal waters, just like the rocky mountains. they're owned by us, the american people. now there are certain types of radio waves that are owned by the american people that are perfect for 5g technology. these radio waves and this spectrum, if you will -- i'll use the term spectrum, but you remember i'm just referring to radio waves moving through the air. this particular spectrum that's perfect for 5g technology is called the c band. i don't know why they call it that, but that's what they call it. and it is between 3.7 gigahertz and 4.2 gigahertz. don't worry about what that means. just know that this spectrum, this part of the overall spectrum is perfect for 5g. and it's perfect because it strikes a balance between cov

. >> wednesday federal communication commission chair nominee jess testify at a confirmation hearing before senate commerce science and important committee. beginning 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span 3. on-line or our new video app. >> c-span can your unfiltered view of different. washington jol >> congresswoman lois frank lynn domecrat from florida on our screen, starting with build back better act. what is latest you hear about when a vote on the house floor willen happen this week. and will democrats be unified when that vote happens? >> thanks great to be with

in december, the trump f.c.c., federal communications commission, eliminated net neutrality. these rules prevented your internet service provider, comcast, at&t, verizon, charter, from us discriminantly charged more for internet fast lanes or slowing down or even blocking certain websites entirely. the very rules that allow inventors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses the lifeblood of the american economy to connect to the internet. and the reason why is simple. the trump administration sides with the rich and the powerful first, and consistently puts every day -- everyday americans last of the we have seen them wage an all-out assault on health care, on climate change, and now on net neutrality. but today the internet is fighting back, and we have a powerful tool at our disposal that will allow the average consumer to have their voices heard right here on the floor of the united states senate. today i am officially introducing a c.r.a., a congressional review act resolution that will fully restore net neutrality. the entire senate democratic caucus is now standing with the

state governments oversee and operate local emergency management alert systems, but the federal communications commission, the f.c.c., and the department of homeland security through fema have a role to play to make sure that these systems are operating properly. during yesterday's hearing in the judiciary committee, secretary of homeland security kirstjen nielsen committed to working with me to strengthen the federal-state cooperation on emergency alerts, assess potential failures, and improve overall readiness in hawaii and across our country. the f.c.c. is also conducting an investigation into what happened. the entire nation will benefit in these key -- as these key federal agencies work with states to close gaps in training and communication, institute best practices, and assure states and local governments have the appropriate resources to prevent this kind of occurrence from happening again. this false alert also clarified the importance of strong coordination between the state government and our military. over the weekend, i also spoke with admiral harris of pacific command about ways to strength

we are going to have the pleasure of hearing from leadership of the federal communications commission as a point of personal privilege is a former colleague i will tell you it is a real testament to the significance of this effort and its import that the entire commission would be here today. not only under the great leadership of my friend, the chairman, and julius genachowski who is always given voice to this issue. is joined by outstanding colleagues in minion colleague -- minion clyburn and robert mcdowell to understand this is a mission that crosses all party divides and whose significance cannot afford the usual difficulties of the process and i'm thrilled to have them with us here today. [applause] i think we will have a fruitful discussion on this report. i'm very much looking forward to hearing the findings and i will not preclude them. with that i have the pleasure and a privilege to introduce a great leader, a better friend and a real committed advocate for great causes, the presidency of the national urban league, marc morial. [applause] >> thank you very much. ladies and

the federal communications commission has jurisdiction over radio, tv, and the internet.hich means it deals with a number of sensitive issues, notably free speech issues. and for that reason it calls for commissioners who are thoughtful, fair, and impartial. ms. sohn is none of these. she is an unpollingic -- unapologetic partisan, knowing to speak despairingly of media outlets, the same outlets she would regulate and politicians who disagree with her. her nomination is opposed by the left of center policy institute which is due to a pattern of ilf those on the left who dissent from her hard left orthodoxies. end quote. she is the very opposite of fair and impartial. i can think of few candidates who would be more detrimental to the protection of free speech on the public airways. but it doesn'tened there. -- doesn't end there. she raised questions with her political donations to simple democrat senators at the same time that her nomination was before the united states senate. one of those donations was given to a member of the commerce committee, which of course is the c

the clerk: s. 4853, a bill to prohibit the federal communications commission from promulgating on enforcingules regarding disclosure of artificial intelligence jenrated content in -- generated in political advertisements. mr. schumer: i now ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the bill will be read for the second time on the next legislative day. mr. schumer: mr. president, i have eight requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. schumer: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 11:00 a.m. on wednesday, july 31, that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. following the conclusi

now chairman pai claims that the federal trade commission -- not the federal communications commission -- the commission of expertise over telecommunications, but the federal trade commission somehow provides a sufficient back stop to bad behavior by the i.s.p.'s. but that is simply not true. under the federal trade commission, the big broadband barons would establish their own net neutrality policies. that's like letting the bullies develop their own playground rules. and if the i.s.p. wants to block websites, slow down competitors' websites, charge innovators and entrepreneurs to reach their customers, they will be free to do so. and that's because the federal trade commission can only step in if a broadband provider violates its own net neutrality policies. that is a policy created by the broadband company itself. but if an internet service provider has a written policy that charges websites for internet fast lanes, there's nothing the federal trade commission can do about it. that is ridiculous, and it is wrong. allowing the broadband industry to set their own net neutrality protec

my bill would direct the department of labor and federal communications commission to issue guidance r states to help leverage existing federal resources for growing the telecommunication workforces and help them improve recruitment for the programs like the wireless infrastructure association's telecommunications industry registered apprenticeship program. i appreciate my colleagues, senators tester, moran and peters for partnering with me on this bim. madam president, -- on this bill. madam president, getting to 5g in the near future is important for our country, both economically and for the advances it will bring in medicine and auto safety which is why it has been a major priority of mine over the past few years and i am particularly motivated by the benefits 5g could bring to my home state of south dakota. the ability to deploy precision agriculture on a wide scale would have huge benefits for south dakota farmers and better access to telemedicine could bring better health care to thousands of residents in my home state and other rural areas. but to get for these benefits, we ha

so congratulations to the federal communications commission and congratulations to all entrepreneurs across america in this space today today is a day when you should be celebrating. i yield back the balance of my time madam president. i ask that we recess until 1:45 p.m. as provided by the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate stands in recess until 1:45 p.m. a modern economy is built innovation and commercialization to promote widespread gains for its citizens. now some tensions exist between these two ingredients for the strong economy. because coming up with novel ideas is risk-taking, focus on future possibilities. some ideas or inventions -- or inventions were filtered by turning ideas into successful products require is capitalizing on already existing ideas. the trick is to balance one with the other so that we can produce the products of today efficiently and at the same time invest integrating the product of tomorrow. both our competition and our intellectual property laws played by the role and balancing our goals for today and the others jus

i want to thank chairman ajit pai and his colleagues at the federal communications commission. the chairman announced yesterday that he was going to put 5g technology and the american taxpayer first by holing a public auction -- by holding a public auction as opposed to a private auction of what we call the c-band. it was a courageous decision that he made against a lot of pressure. and allow me, madam president, for just a few minutes to explain why that's important. we've all heard about 5g. 5g, which stands for fifth generation, is a brand-new wireless technology. it means incredibly fast internet and cellphone calls. it means the ability to deliver as much as 100 times more data through wireless technology than we can do today. we'll notice it in our ipads, we'll notice it in our computers, but we'll notice it also in our cellphones. and, as you know madam president, a krl phone is really -- a cellphone is really a sophisticated walkie-talkie. a cellphone is just a very sophisticated, much more complicated walkie-talke. how does it work? radio waves. the scientific term is

the clerk: h. 820, an act to direct the federal communications commission to publish a list of entities that hold authorizations, licenses and other grants of authority issued by the commission and have certain foreign ownership and for other purposes. mr. schumer: in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i'd object to further proceeding. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. schumer: thank you, madam president. now, madam president, yesterday afternoon i spoke with secret service acting director rowe after an armed suspect was arrested after fleeing from former president trump's golf course in west palm beach florida. ly say what i've said many times before. there's no place in america for political violence of any kind. i'm glad the former president is safe, and i applaud the secret service and all first responders for acting quickly before anyone got hurt. as for the perpetrator, he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. we all must do our part to ensure an incident like this

recently, the federal communications commission okayed a proposal by ligado networks to make a new cellular net work that jeopardizes ligado signals that nobody people rely on. we had some 12 agencies of government all joined in. nobody else on the other side was talking about what ligado was going to do and the jeopardy it puts on our g.p.s. system. we're not just talking about in the use in the field for these signals but the pilots in the sky, construction workers on job sites, even our farmers use g.p.s. to irrigate and harass vast their cops -- harvest their craps. the f.c.c. went ahead with this deal. getting even worse, the f.c.c. was aware of the threat that was being posed and the objections that were out there. and they actually had the vote to do that over a weekend. and i went back and checked and found out they'd never done that before. i don't know. i can't talk about that because i don't have the answers. i've been trying to get the answers. ndaa makes sure they are on the costly updates. if ligado moves ahead with the deal by prohibiting the use of d.o.d. funds to comply wit