Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act of 2018

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I also rise in support of H.R. 4986, the RAY BAUM'S Act. This bill is the product of extensive bipartisan collaboration. After exhaustive negotiations, we were able to reach a deal that includes bills introduced by Democrats and Republicans in both the House and in the Senate. That does not happen often, and I would like to thank my colleagues for working with me so closely.

This bill is a real tribute to its namesake, Ray Baum. Ray had a passion for telecommunications policy and a special place in his heart for broadcasting. Ray was also an eternal optimist. He never faltered in his belief that we could find a way to work together to find a solution, and he was right.

We were able to incorporate proposals from Members on both sides of the aisle, just the way Ray would have liked it, and we were able to produce this legislation that will reauthorize the FCC for the first time in 28 years.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to briefly mention some aspects of this bill that I am most proud of. First, we were able to include the SANDy Act, which is named to honor those affected by Superstorm Sandy, a storm that ripped through the Northeast, including my district, over 5 years ago. During that superstorm, we saw firsthand how important communications were for survival. From television and radio broadcasters to wireless providers and cable networks, each played its own role in making sure people knew how to find help, look for loved ones, and stay out of harm's way.

I used the lessons we learned from Sandy in writing this legislation. When this bill is signed into law, our networks will be stronger, more resilient, and more capable to serve in an emergency.

This FCC reauthorization bill also includes the Viewer Protection Act. I introduced the Viewer Protection Act to make sure no viewer loses signal as a result of the FCC's incentive auction. Access to local information has become even more important as the number of natural disasters has increased over the past few years.

Not only does this bill help ensure consumers' broadcast stations don't go dark, as part of this bipartisan, bicameral deal, we have agreed to provide $50 million in funding to help educate consumers about the transition. This funding is critical to make sure that people have access to information about how to get their televisions to work.

My colleagues will discuss other important aspects of this deal. But before they do, I would like to point out two important provisions that we included as part of the reauthorization. First, we included a provision that makes the FCC's inspector general independent of the Commission's chairman. The IG is currently conducting a number of critical investigations, including one into whether the chairman of the agency has been improperly favoring Sinclair Broadcast Group. But under current law, these investigations are being conducted under a cloud-- the very chairman who is under investigation can obstruct the review by firing the inspector general or his or her staff at any time. So by passing this bill, we are ensuring that these important investigations can conclude without any interference.

Finally, I do not normally support unnecessarily cutting the budget of our agencies. But in this case, I would like to thank my colleagues for agreeing to limit this cut to the length of this administration. The current leadership of the FCC, in my opinion, has proven that it cannot be trusted to serve the public interest. Most notably, the agency has ignored its statutory duty and the call of the American people by destroying our net neutrality protections. Net neutrality safeguards our American values by empowering small businesses, creating new jobs, and ensuring free speech online.

By limiting the resources that we provide for the next 3 years, this reauthorization will limit this Commission's power, in my opinion, to do more harm.

For these reasons and many more, I urge my colleagues to support the bipartisan and bicameral agreement embodied by the RAY BAUM'S Act.

I would like to also thank the Democratic committee staff--David Goldman, Gerald Leverich, and Dan Miller--for all of their hard work in getting this bill to the floor today.

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Mr. PALLONE. Doyle), who is the ranking member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to speak in memorial to the late Ray Baum. He was a dedicated husband and father, the staff director for the majority on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and a trusted adviser and friend to Chairman Walden. We were all saddened by his passing, and I would like to express our condolences to his friends and family.

The legislation before us today is the product of bipartisan and bicameral compromise. While it is not perfect, it represents a good faith effort by Ranking Member Pallone, Chairman Walden, Senator Nelson, and Senator Thune.

This compromise incorporates a number of Democratic priorities, including Ranking Member Pallone's Viewer Protection Act and SANDy Act, and Congresswoman Eshoo's RESPONSE Act and ``Dig Once'' bill, and a number of provisions from other members of our committee on cybersecurity, Tribal broadband, broadband access for veterans, and others.

Like Ranking Member Pallone, I am also happy to see bipartisan language included in the bill which makes the FCC inspector general an independent entity.

This sends a strong bipartisan and bicameral message to Chairman Pai that he cannot end the FCC inspector general's investigation into collusion between his office and Sinclair Broadcast Group simply by firing the current inspector general. These allegations also require congressional oversight and investigation.

I am also happy to see that we have an agreement to provide the remainder of the funds necessary to transition broadcasters as part of the FCC's incentive auction--keeping a promise that we made to them that they would be held harmless.

The agreement also includes funds for consumer education about the transition. It is critical that the public be educated about the upcoming television repack and understand the what, when, and where of how it will work.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to continuing to work on this legislation with my colleagues as it moves forward.

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Mr. PALLONE. Matsui).

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to say, again, that this bill is a bipartisan bill. There has been a lot of work done on both sides of the aisle. I appreciate the fact that we are able to accomplish this and also include a lot of initiatives from Members on both sides of the aisle. And, again, as a tribute to Ray Baum and all that he did for us over the many years, I am proud to say that we enthusiastically support the bill and urge its passage.

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