IB 

Union Calendar No. 445 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4986 

[Report No. 115–587, Part I] 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to reauthorize appropriations 

for the Federal Communications Commission, to provide for certain procedural changes to the rules of the Commission to maximize opportunities 

for public participation and efficient decisionmaking, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2018 

Mrs. BLACKBURN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees 

on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Government 

Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

MARCH 6, 2018 

Additional sponsor: Mr. WALDEN

MARCH 6, 2018 

Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

MARCH 6, 2018 

The Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Oversight and 

Government Reform discharged; committed to the Committee of the 

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 8, 2018] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to reauthorize 

appropriations for the Federal Communications Commission, to provide for certain procedural changes to the 

rules of the Commission to maximize opportunities for 

public participation and efficient decisionmaking, and for 

other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Re5 pack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern 

6 Services Act of 2018’’ or the ‘‘RAY BAUM’S Act of 2018’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Commission defined. 

TITLE I—FCC REAUTHORIZATION 

Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 102. Application and regulatory fees. 

Sec. 103. Effective date. 

TITLE II—FCC PROCESS REFORM 

Sec. 201. FCC process reform. 

Sec. 202. Categorization of TCPA inquiries and complaints in quarterly report. 

Sec. 203. Effect on other laws. 

Sec. 204. Application of Antideficiency Act to Universal Service Program. 

Sec. 205. Report on improving small business participation in FCC proceedings. 

Sec. 206. Timely availability of items adopted by vote of the Commission. 

TITLE III—SECURING ACCESS TO NETWORKS IN DISASTERS 

Sec. 301. Study on network resiliency. 

Sec. 302. Access to essential service providers during federally declared emergencies. 

Sec. 303. Definitions. 

TITLE IV—FCC CONSOLIDATED REPORTING 

Sec. 401. Communications marketplace report. 

Sec. 402. Consolidation of redundant reports; conforming amendments. 

Sec. 403. Effect on authority. 

Sec. 404. Other reports. 

TITLE V—ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 501. Independent Inspector General for FCC. 

Sec. 502. Authority of Chief Information Officer. 

Sec. 503. Spoofing prevention. 

Sec. 504. Report on promoting broadband Internet access service for veterans. 

Sec. 505. Methodology for collection of mobile service coverage data. 

Sec. 506. Accuracy of dispatchable location for 9-1-1 calls. 


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Sec. 507. NTIA study on interagency process following cybersecurity incidents. 

Sec. 508. Tribal digital access. 

TITLE VI—VIEWER PROTECTION 

Sec. 601. Reserve source for payment of TV broadcaster relocation costs. 

Sec. 602. Payment of relocation costs of television translator stations and low 

power television stations. 

Sec. 603. Payment of relocation costs of FM broadcast stations. 

Sec. 604. Consumer education payment. 

Sec. 605. Implementation and enforcement. 

Sec. 606. Rule of construction. 

1 SEC. 2. COMMISSION DEFINED. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 

3 Communications Commission. 

4 TITLE I—FCC 

5 REAUTHORIZATION 

6 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of the Communications 

8 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 156) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap11 propriated to the Commission to carry out the functions 

12 of the Commission $322,035,000 for each of the fiscal years 

13 2019 and 2020. 

14 ‘‘(b) OFFSETTING COLLECTIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The sum appropriated in 

16 any fiscal year to carry out the activities described in 

17 subsection (a), to the extent and in the amounts pro18 vided for in advance in Appropriations Acts, shall be 

19 derived from fees authorized by section 9. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEPOSIT OF COLLECTIONS.—Amounts re2 ceived from fees authorized by section 9 shall be de3 posited as an offsetting collection in, and credited to, 

4 the account through which funds are made available 

5 to carry out the activities described in subsection (a). 

6 ‘‘(3) DEPOSIT OF EXCESS COLLECTIONS.—Any 

7 fees collected in excess of the total amount of fees pro8 vided for in Appropriations Acts for a fiscal year 

9 shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury 

10 of the United States for the sole purpose of deficit re11 duction.’’. 

12 (b) DEPOSITS OF BIDDERS TO BE DEPOSITED IN

13 TREASURY.—Section 309(j)(8)(C) of the Communications 

14 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(C)) is amended— 

15 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘an interest 

16 bearing account’’ and all that follows and inserting 

17 ‘‘the Treasury.’’; 

18 (2) in clause (i)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘paid to the Treasury’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘deposited in the general fund of the 

21 Treasury (where such deposits shall be used for 

22 the sole purpose of deficit reduction)’’; and 

23 (B) by striking the semicolon and inserting 

24 ‘‘; and’’; 


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1 (3) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘, and payments representing the return of such 

3 deposits shall not be subject to administrative offset 

4 under section 3716(c) of title 31, United States 

5 Code.’’; and 

6 (4) by striking clause (iii). 

7 (c) ELIMINATION OF DUPLICATIVE AUTHORIZATION OF

8 APPROPRIATIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 710 of the Tele10 communications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–104) is 

11 repealed. 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

13 contents in section 2 of such Act is amended by strik14 ing the item relating to section 710. 

15 (d) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—On the effective date de16 scribed in section 103, any amounts in the account pro17 viding appropriations to carry out the functions of the 

18 Commission that were collected in excess of the amounts 

19 provided for in Appropriations Acts in any fiscal year 

20 prior to such date shall be transferred to the general fund 

21 of the Treasury of the United States for the sole purpose 

22 of deficit reduction. 

23 SEC. 102. APPLICATION AND REGULATORY FEES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9 of the Communications 

25 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 159) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 9. APPLICATION AND REGULATORY FEES. 

2 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Commission shall 

3 assess and collect application fees and regulatory fees to re4 cover the costs of carrying out the activities described in 

5 section 6(a) only to the extent and in the amounts provided 

6 for in advance in Appropriations Acts. 

7 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION FEES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall assess 

9 and collect application fees at such rates as the Com10 mission shall establish in a schedule of application 

11 fees to recover the costs of the Commission to process 

12 applications. 

13 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT OF SCHEDULE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In every even-numbered 

15 year, the Commission shall review the schedule of 

16 application fees established under this subsection 

17 and, except as provided in subparagraph (B), set 

18 a new amount for each fee in the schedule that 

19 is equal to the amount of the fee on the date 

20 when the fee was established or the date when the 

21 fee was last amended under paragraph (3), 

22 whichever is later— 

23 ‘‘(i) increased or decreased by the per24 centage change in the Consumer Price Index 

25 during the period beginning on such date 

26 and ending on the date of the review; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) rounded to the nearest $5 incre2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(B) THRESHOLD FOR ADJUSTMENT.—The 

4 Commission may not adjust a fee under sub5 paragraph (A) if— 

6 ‘‘(i) in the case of a fee the current 

7 amount of which is less than $200, the ad8 justment would result in a change in the 

9 current amount of less than $10; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a fee the current 

11 amount of which is $200 or more, the ad12 justment would result in a change in the 

13 current amount of less than 5 percent. 

14 ‘‘(C) CURRENT AMOUNT DEFINED.—In sub15 paragraph (B), the term ‘current amount’ 

16 means, with respect to a fee, the amount of the 

17 fee on the date when the fee was established, the 

18 date when the fee was last adjusted under sub19 paragraph (A), or the date when the fee was last 

20 amended under paragraph (3), whichever is lat21 est. 

22 ‘‘(3) AMENDMENTS.—In addition to the adjust23 ments required by paragraph (2), the Commission 

24 shall by rule amend the schedule of application fees 

25 established under this subsection if the Commission 


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1 determines that the schedule requires amendment so 

2 that such fees reflect increases or decreases in the costs 

3 of processing applications at the Commission and the 

4 consolidation or addition of new categories of appli5 cations. 

6 ‘‘(c) REGULATORY FEES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall assess 

8 and collect regulatory fees at such rates as the Com9 mission shall establish in a schedule of regulatory fees 

10 that will result in the collection, in each fiscal year, 

11 of an amount that can reasonably be expected to 

12 equal the difference between— 

13 ‘‘(A) the amounts described in subsection 

14 (a) with respect to such fiscal year; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the amount of application fees reason16 ably expected to be collected in such fiscal year. 

17 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT OF SCHEDULE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, 

19 the Commission shall by rule adjust the schedule 

20 of regulatory fees established under this sub21 section to— 

22 ‘‘(i) reflect unexpected increases or de23 creases in the number of units subject to the 

24 payment of such fees; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) result in the collection of the 

2 amount required by paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(B) ROUNDING.—In making adjustments 

4 under this paragraph, the Commission may 

5 round fees to the nearest $5 increment. 

6 ‘‘(3) AMENDMENTS.—In addition to the adjust7 ments required by paragraph (2), the Commission 

8 shall by rule amend the schedule of regulatory fees es9 tablished under this subsection if the Commission de10 termines that the schedule requires amendment so that 

11 such fees reflect the full-time equivalent number of em12 ployees within the bureaus and offices of the Commis13 sion, adjusted to take into account factors that are 

14 reasonably related to the benefits provided to the 

15 payor of the fee by the Commission’s activities. In 

16 making an amendment under this paragraph, the 

17 Commission may not change the total amount of reg18 ulatory fees required by paragraph (1) to be collected 

19 in a fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(d) JUDICIAL REVIEW PROHIBITED.—An adjustment 

21 or amendment to a schedule of fees under subsection (b) or 

22 (c) is not subject to judicial review. 

23 ‘‘(e) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—The Commission shall 

24 transmit to Congress notification— 


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1 ‘‘(1) of any adjustment under subsection (b)(2) 

2 or (c)(2) immediately upon the adoption of such ad3 justment; and 

4 ‘‘(2) of any amendment under subsection (b)(3) 

5 or (c)(3) not later than 90 days before the effective 

6 date of such amendment. 

7 ‘‘(f) ENFORCEMENT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) PENALTIES FOR LATE PAYMENT.—The Com9 mission shall by rule prescribe a penalty for late pay10 ment of fees under this section. Such penalty shall be 

11 25 percent of the amount of the fee that was not paid 

12 in a timely manner. 

13 ‘‘(2) INTEREST ON UNPAID FEES AND PEN14 ALTIES.—The Commission shall charge interest, at a 

15 rate determined under section 3717 of title 31, United 

16 States Code, on a fee or penalty under this section 

17 that is not paid in a timely manner. Such section 

18 3717 shall not otherwise apply with respect to a fee 

19 or penalty under this section. 

20 ‘‘(3) DISMISSAL OF APPLICATIONS OR FILINGS.— 

21 The Commission may dismiss any application or 

22 other filing for failure to pay in a timely manner 

23 any fee, interest, or penalty under this section. 

24 ‘‘(4) REVOCATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to or in 

2 lieu of the penalties and dismissals authorized by 

3 paragraphs (1) and (3), the Commission may re4 voke any instrument of authorization held by 

5 any licensee that has not paid in a timely man6 ner a regulatory fee assessed under this section 

7 or any related interest or penalty. 

8 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.—Revocation action may be 

9 taken by the Commission under this paragraph 

10 after notice of the Commission’s intent to take 

11 such action is sent to the licensee by registered 

12 mail, return receipt requested, at the licensee’s 

13 last known address. The notice shall provide the 

14 licensee at least 30 days to either pay the fee, in15 terest, and any penalty or show cause why the 

16 fee, interest, or penalty does not apply to the li17 censee or should otherwise be waived or payment 

18 deferred. 

19 ‘‘(C) HEARING.— 

20 ‘‘(i) GENERALLY NOT REQUIRED.—A 

21 hearing is not required under this para22 graph unless the licensee’s response presents 

23 a substantial and material question of fact. 

24 ‘‘(ii) EVIDENCE AND BURDENS.—In 

25 any case where a hearing is conducted 


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1 under this paragraph, the hearing shall be 

2 based on written evidence only, and the bur3 den of proceeding with the introduction of 

4 evidence and the burden of proof shall be on 

5 the licensee. 

6 ‘‘(iii) COSTS.—Unless the licensee sub7 stantially prevails in the hearing, the Com8 mission may assess the licensee for the costs 

9 of such hearing. 

10 ‘‘(D) OPPORTUNITY TO PAY PRIOR TO REV11 OCATION.—Any Commission order adopted 

12 under this paragraph shall determine the 

13 amount due, if any, and provide the licensee 

14 with at least 30 days to pay that amount or 

15 have its authorization revoked. 

16 ‘‘(E) FINALITY.—No order of revocation 

17 under this paragraph shall become final until 

18 the licensee has exhausted its right to judicial re19 view of such order under section 402(b)(5). 

20 ‘‘(g) WAIVER, REDUCTION, AND DEFERMENT.—The 

21 Commission may waive, reduce, or defer payment of a fee, 

22 interest charge, or penalty in any specific instance for good 

23 cause shown, if such action would promote the public inter24 est. 


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1 ‘‘(h) PAYMENT RULES.—The Commission shall by rule 

2 permit payment— 

3 ‘‘(1) in the case of fees in large amounts, by in4 stallments; and 

5 ‘‘(2) in the case of fees in small amounts, in ad6 vance for a number of years not to exceed the term 

7 of the license held by the payor. 

8 ‘‘(i) EXCEPTIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PARTIES TO WHICH FEES ARE NOT APPLI10 CABLE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION FEES.—The application 

12 fees established under this section shall not be 

13 applicable to— 

14 ‘‘(i) a governmental entity; 

15 ‘‘(ii) a nonprofit entity licensed in the 

16 Local Government, Police, Fire, Highway 

17 Maintenance, Forestry-Conservation, Public 

18 Safety, or Special Emergency Radio service; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(iii) a noncommercial radio station 

21 or noncommercial television station. 

22 ‘‘(B) REGULATORY FEES.—The regulatory 

23 fees established under this section shall not be 

24 applicable to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a governmental entity or nonprofit 

2 entity; 

3 ‘‘(ii) an amateur radio operator li4 censee under part 97 of the Commission’s 

5 rules (47 C.F.R. part 97); or 

6 ‘‘(iii) a noncommercial radio station 

7 or noncommercial television station. 

8 ‘‘(2) COST OF COLLECTION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION FEES.—If, in the judg10 ment of the Commission, the cost of collecting an 

11 application fee established under this section 

12 would exceed the amount collected, the Commis13 sion may by rule eliminate such fee. 

14 ‘‘(B) REGULATORY FEES.—If, in the judg15 ment of the Commission, the cost of collecting a 

16 regulatory fee established under this section from 

17 a party would exceed the amount collected from 

18 such party, the Commission may exempt such 

19 party from paying such fee. 

20 ‘‘(j) ACCOUNTING SYSTEM.—The Commission shall de21 velop accounting systems necessary to make the amend22 ments authorized by subsections (b)(3) and (c)(3).’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Communica24 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended— 

25 (1) by repealing section 8; and 


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1 (2) in section 309(j)(6)(H), by striking ‘‘charges 

2 imposed pursuant to section 8 of this Act’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘application fees assessed under section 9’’. 

4 (c) TRANSITIONAL RULES.— 

5 (1) APPLICATION FEES.—An application fee es6 tablished under section 8 of the Communications Act 

7 of 1934, as such section is in effect on the day before 

8 the effective date described in section 103 of this Act, 

9 shall remain in effect under subsection (b) of section 

10 9 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by 

11 subsection (a) of this section, until such time as the 

12 Commission adjusts or amends such fee under sub13 section (b)(2) or (b)(3) of such section 9, as so amend14 ed. 

15 (2) REGULATORY FEES.—A regulatory fee estab16 lished under section 9 of the Communications Act of 

17 1934, as such section is in effect on the day before the 

18 effective date described in section 103 of this Act, 

19 shall remain in effect under subsection (c) of section 

20 9 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by 

21 subsection (a) of this section, until such time as the 

22 Commission adjusts or amends such fee under sub23 section (c)(2) or (c)(3) of such section 9, as so amend24 ed. 


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1 (d) RULEMAKING TO AMEND SCHEDULE OF REGU2 LATORY FEES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

4 the effective date described in section 103, the Com5 mission shall complete a rulemaking proceeding under 

6 subsection (c)(3) of section 9 of the Communications 

7 Act of 1934, as amended by subsection (a) of this sec8 tion. 

9 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—If the Commission 

10 has not completed the rulemaking proceeding required 

11 by paragraph (1) by the date that is 6 months after 

12 the effective date described in section 103, the Com13 mission shall submit to Congress a report on the 

14 progress of such rulemaking proceeding. 

15 SEC. 103. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

16 This title and the amendments made by this title shall 

17 take effect on October 1, 2018. 

18 TITLE II—FCC PROCESS REFORM 

19 SEC. 201. FCC PROCESS REFORM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Communications Act 

21 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

22 the end the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 13. TRANSPARENCY AND EFFICIENCY. 

24 ‘‘(a) INITIAL RULEMAKING AND INQUIRY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of the enactment of this section, the Commis3 sion shall complete a rulemaking proceeding and 

4 adopt procedural changes to its rules to maximize op5 portunities for public participation and efficient deci6 sionmaking. 

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR RULEMAKING.—The 

8 rules adopted under paragraph (1) shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) set minimum comment periods for 

10 comment and reply comment, subject to a deter11 mination by the Commission that good cause ex12 ists for departing from such minimum comment 

13 periods, for— 

14 ‘‘(i) significant regulatory actions, as 

15 defined in Executive Order No. 12866; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) all other rulemaking proceedings; 

17 ‘‘(B) establish policies concerning the sub18 mission of extensive new comments, data, or re19 ports towards the end of the comment period in 

20 the proceedings described in clauses (i) and (ii) 

21 of subparagraph (A); 

22 ‘‘(C) establish policies regarding treatment 

23 of comments, ex parte communications, and data 

24 or reports (including statistical reports and re25 ports to Congress) submitted after the comment 


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1 period in the proceedings described in clauses (i) 

2 and (ii) of subparagraph (A) to ensure that the 

3 public has adequate notice of and opportunity to 

4 respond to such submissions before the Commis5 sion relies on such submissions in any order, de6 cision, report, or action; 

7 ‘‘(D) establish procedures for, not later than 

8 14 days after the end of each quarter of a cal9 endar year (or more frequently, as the Commis10 sion considers appropriate), publishing on the 

11 Internet website of the Commission and submit12 ting to Congress a report that contains— 

13 ‘‘(i) the status of open rulemaking pro14 ceedings and proposed orders, decisions, re15 ports, or actions on circulation for review 

16 by the Commissioners, including which 

17 Commissioners have not cast a vote on an 

18 order, decision, report, or action that has 

19 been on circulation for more than 60 days; 

20 ‘‘(ii) for the petitions, applications, 

21 complaints, and other requests for action by 

22 the Commission that were pending at the 

23 Commission on the last day of such quarter 

24 (or more frequent period, as the case may 

25 be)— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the number of such requests, 

2 broken down by the bureau primarily 

3 responsible for action and, for each bu4 reau, the type of request (such as a pe5 tition, application, or complaint); and 

6 ‘‘(II) information regarding the 

7 amount of time for which such requests 

8 have been pending, broken down as de9 scribed in subclause (I); and 

10 ‘‘(iii) a list of the congressional inves11 tigations of the Commission that were pend12 ing on the last day of such quarter (or more 

13 frequent period, as the case may be) and the 

14 cost of such investigations, individually and 

15 in the aggregate; 

16 ‘‘(E) establish deadlines (relative to the date 

17 of filing) for— 

18 ‘‘(i) in the case of a petition for a de19 claratory ruling under section 1.2 of title 

20 47, Code of Federal Regulations, issuing a 

21 public notice of such petition; 

22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a petition for rule23 making under section 1.401 of such title, 

24 issuing a public notice of such petition; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a petition for re2 consideration under section 1.106 or 1.429 

3 of such title or an application for review 

4 under section 1.115 of such title, issuing a 

5 public notice of a decision on the petition or 

6 application by the Commission or under 

7 delegated authority (as the case may be); 

8 ‘‘(F) establish guidelines (relative to the 

9 date of filing) for the disposition of petitions 

10 filed under section 1.2 of such title; 

11 ‘‘(G) establish procedures for the inclusion 

12 of the specific language of the proposed rule or 

13 the proposed amendment of an existing rule in 

14 a notice of proposed rulemaking; and 

15 ‘‘(H) require notices of proposed rulemaking 

16 and orders adopting a rule or amending an ex17 isting rule that— 

18 ‘‘(i) create (or propose to create) a pro19 gram activity to contain performance meas20 ures for evaluating the effectiveness of the 

21 program activity; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) substantially change (or propose 

23 to substantially change) a program activity 

24 to contain— 


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1 ‘‘(I) performance measures for 

2 evaluating the effectiveness of the pro3 gram activity as changed (or proposed 

4 to be changed); or 

5 ‘‘(II) a finding that existing per6 formance measures will effectively 

7 evaluate the program activity as 

8 changed (or proposed to be changed). 

9 ‘‘(3) INQUIRY.—Not later than 1 year after the 

10 date of the enactment of this section, the Commission 

11 shall complete an inquiry to seek public comment on 

12 whether and how the Commission should— 

13 ‘‘(A) establish procedures for allowing a bi14 partisan majority of Commissioners to place an 

15 order, decision, report, or action on the agenda 

16 of an open meeting; 

17 ‘‘(B) establish procedures for informing all 

18 Commissioners of a reasonable number of options 

19 available to the Commission for resolving a peti20 tion, complaint, application, rulemaking, or 

21 other proceeding; 

22 ‘‘(C) establish procedures for ensuring that 

23 all Commissioners have adequate time, prior to 

24 being required to decide a petition, complaint, 

25 application, rulemaking, or other proceeding (inVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Mar 06, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4986.RH H4986

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1 cluding at a meeting held pursuant to section 

2 5(d)), to review the proposed Commission deci3 sion document, including the specific language of 

4 any proposed rule or any proposed amendment 

5 of an existing rule; 

6 ‘‘(D) establish procedures for publishing the 

7 text of agenda items to be voted on at an open 

8 meeting in advance of such meeting so that the 

9 public has the opportunity to read the text before 

10 a vote is taken; 

11 ‘‘(E) establish deadlines (relative to the date 

12 of filing) for disposition of applications for a li13 cense under section 1.913 of title 47, Code of 

14 Federal Regulations; 

15 ‘‘(F) assign resources needed in order to 

16 meet the deadlines described in subparagraph 

17 (E), including whether the Commission’s ability 

18 to meet such deadlines would be enhanced by as19 sessing a fee from applicants for such a license; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(G) except as otherwise provided in section 

22 4(o), publish each order, decision, report, or ac23 tion not later than 30 days after the date of the 

24 adoption of such order, decision, report, or ac25 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(4) DATA FOR PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—The 

2 Commission shall develop a performance measure or 

3 proposed performance measure required by this sub4 section to rely, where possible, on data already col5 lected by the Commission. 

6 ‘‘(5) GAO AUDIT.—Not less frequently than every 

7 6 months, the Comptroller General of the United 

8 States shall audit the cost estimates provided by the 

9 Commission under paragraph (2)(D)(iii) during the 

10 preceding 6-month period. 

11 ‘‘(b) PERIODIC REVIEW.—On the date that is 5 years 

12 after the completion of the rulemaking proceeding under 

13 subsection (a)(1), and every 5 years thereafter, the Commis14 sion shall initiate a new rulemaking proceeding to continue 

15 to consider such procedural changes to its rules as may be 

16 in the public interest to maximize opportunities for public 

17 participation and efficient decisionmaking. 

18 ‘‘(c) NONPUBLIC COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

20 552b of title 5, United States Code, a bipartisan ma21 jority of Commissioners may hold a meeting that is 

22 closed to the public to discuss official business if— 

23 ‘‘(A) a vote or any other agency action is 

24 not taken at such meeting; 


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1 ‘‘(B) each person present at such meeting is 

2 a Commissioner, an employee of the Commission, 

3 a member of a joint board or conference estab4 lished under section 410, or a person on the staff 

5 of such a joint board or conference or of a mem6 ber of such a joint board or conference; and 

7 ‘‘(C) an attorney from the Office of General 

8 Counsel of the Commission is present at such 

9 meeting. 

10 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE OF NONPUBLIC COLLABO11 RATIVE DISCUSSIONS.—Not later than 2 business days 

12 after the conclusion of a meeting held under para13 graph (1), the Commission shall publish a disclosure 

14 of such meeting, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) a list of the persons who attended such 

16 meeting; and 

17 ‘‘(B) a summary of the matters discussed at 

18 such meeting, except for such matters as the 

19 Commission determines may be withheld under 

20 section 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code. 

21 ‘‘(3) PRESERVATION OF OPEN MEETINGS RE22 QUIREMENTS FOR AGENCY ACTION.—Nothing in this 

23 subsection shall limit the applicability of section 552b 

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1 ing of Commissioners other than that described in 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(d) ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION ON COMMIS4 SION’S WEBSITE.—The Commission shall provide direct ac5 cess from the homepage of its website to— 

6 ‘‘(1) detailed information regarding— 

7 ‘‘(A) the budget of the Commission for the 

8 current fiscal year; 

9 ‘‘(B) the appropriations for the Commission 

10 for such fiscal year; and 

11 ‘‘(C) the total number of full-time equiva12 lent employees of the Commission; and 

13 ‘‘(2) the performance plan most recently made 

14 available by the Commission under section 1115(b) of 

15 title 31, United States Code. 

16 ‘‘(e) INTERNET PUBLICATION OF CERTAIN FCC POLI17 CIES AND PROCEDURES.—The chairman of the Commission 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) publish on the Internet website of the Com20 mission any policies or procedures of the Commission 

21 that— 

22 ‘‘(A) are established by the chairman; and 

23 ‘‘(B) relate to the functioning of the Com24 mission or the handling of the agenda of the 

25 Commission; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) update such publication not later than 48 

2 hours after the chairman makes changes to any such 

3 policies or procedures. 

4 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL REGISTER PUBLICATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any document 

6 adopted by the Commission that the Commission is 

7 required, under any provision of law, to publish in 

8 the Federal Register, the Commission shall, not later 

9 than the date described in paragraph (2), complete all 

10 Commission actions necessary for such document to be 

11 so published. 

12 ‘‘(2) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date described in 

13 this paragraph is the earlier of— 

14 ‘‘(A) the day that is 45 days after the date 

15 of the release of the document; or 

16 ‘‘(B) the day by which such actions must be 

17 completed to comply with any deadline under 

18 any other provision of law. 

19 ‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON DEADLINES FOR PUBLICA20 TION IN OTHER FORM.—In the case of a deadline that 

21 does not specify that the form of publication is publi22 cation in the Federal Register, the Commission may 

23 comply with such deadline by publishing the docu24 ment in another form. Such other form of publication 

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1 ister publication requirement applicable to such docu2 ment, including the requirement of paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(g) CONSUMER COMPLAINT DATABASE.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In evaluating and processing 

5 consumer complaints, the Commission shall present 

6 information about such complaints in a publicly 

7 available, searchable database on its website that— 

8 ‘‘(A) facilitates easy use by consumers; and 

9 ‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, is sortable 

10 and accessible by— 

11 ‘‘(i) the date of the filing of the com12 plaint; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the topic of the complaint; 

14 ‘‘(iii) the party complained of; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) other elements that the Commis16 sion considers in the public interest. 

17 ‘‘(2) DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS.—In the case of 

18 multiple complaints arising from the same alleged 

19 misconduct, the Commission shall be required to in20 clude only information concerning one such com21 plaint in the database described in paragraph (1) 

22 and shall take any other steps the Commission finds 

23 prudent to avoid publishing inaccurate or misleading 

24 data. 

25 ‘‘(h) FORM OF PUBLICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In complying with a re2 quirement of this section to publish a document, the 

3 Commission shall publish such document on its 

4 website, in addition to publishing such document in 

5 any other form that the Commission is required to use 

6 or is permitted to and chooses to use. 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The Commission shall by rule 

8 establish procedures for redacting documents required 

9 to be published by this section so that the published 

10 versions of such documents do not contain— 

11 ‘‘(A) information the publication of which 

12 would be detrimental to national security, home13 land security, law enforcement, or public safety; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(B) information that is proprietary or 

16 confidential. 

17 ‘‘(i) TRANSPARENCY RELATING TO PERFORMANCE IN

18 MEETING FOIA REQUIREMENTS.—The Commission shall 

19 take additional steps to inform the public about its perform20 ance and efficiency in meeting the disclosure and other re21 quirements of section 552 of title 5, United States Code 

22 (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), 

23 including by doing the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) Publishing on the Commission’s website the 

25 Commission’s logs for tracking, responding to, and 


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1 managing requests submitted under such section, in2 cluding the Commission’s fee estimates, fee categories, 

3 and fee request determinations. 

4 ‘‘(2) Releasing to the public all decisions made 

5 by the Commission (including decisions made by the 

6 Commission’s Bureaus and Offices) granting or deny7 ing requests filed under such section, including any 

8 such decisions pertaining to the estimate and applica9 tion of fees assessed under such section. 

10 ‘‘(3) Publishing on the Commission’s website 

11 electronic copies of documents released under such sec12 tion. 

13 ‘‘(4) Presenting information about the Commis14 sion’s handling of requests under such section in the 

15 Commission’s annual budget estimates submitted to 

16 Congress and the Commission’s annual performance 

17 and financial reports. Such information shall include 

18 the number of requests under such section the Com19 mission received in the most recent fiscal year, the 

20 number of such requests granted and denied, a com21 parison of the Commission’s processing of such re22 quests over at least the previous 3 fiscal years, and 

23 a comparison of the Commission’s results with the 

24 most recent average for the United States Government 

25 as published on www.foia.gov. 


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1 ‘‘(j) PROMPT RELEASE OF STATISTICAL REPORTS AND

2 REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than January 15th of 

3 each year, the Commission shall identify, catalog, and pub4 lish an anticipated release schedule for all statistical reports 

5 and reports to Congress that are regularly or intermittently 

6 released by the Commission and will be released during such 

7 year. 

8 ‘‘(k) ANNUAL SCORECARD REPORTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the 1-year period begin10 ning on January 1st of each year, the Commission 

11 shall prepare a report on the performance of the Com12 mission in conducting its proceedings and meeting 

13 the deadlines established under subsection (a)(2)(E) 

14 and the guidelines established under subsection 

15 (a)(2)(F). 

16 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report required by para17 graph (1) shall contain detailed statistics on such 

18 performance, including, with respect to each Bureau 

19 of the Commission— 

20 ‘‘(A) with respect to each type of filing spec21 ified in subsection (a)(2)(E) or (a)(2)(F)— 

22 ‘‘(i) the number of filings that were 

23 pending on the last day of the period cov24 ered by such report; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the number of filings described in 

2 clause (i) for which each applicable deadline 

3 or guideline established under such sub4 section was not met and the average length 

5 of time such filings have been pending; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) for filings that were resolved dur7 ing such period, the average time between 

8 initiation and resolution and the percentage 

9 for which each applicable deadline or guide10 line established under such subsection was 

11 met; 

12 ‘‘(B) with respect to proceedings before an 

13 administrative law judge— 

14 ‘‘(i) the number of such proceedings 

15 completed during such period; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the number of such proceedings 

17 pending on the last day of such period; and 

18 ‘‘(C) the number of independent studies or 

19 analyses published by the Commission during 

20 such period. 

21 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION AND SUBMISSION.—The Com22 mission shall publish and submit to the Committee on 

23 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representa24 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

25 Transportation of the Senate each report required by 


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1 paragraph (1) not later than the date that is 30 days 

2 after the last day of the period covered by such report. 

3 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) AMENDMENT.—The term ‘amendment’ in5 cludes, when used with respect to an existing rule, the 

6 deletion of such rule. 

7 ‘‘(2) BIPARTISAN MAJORITY.—The term ‘bipar8 tisan majority’ means, when used with respect to a 

9 group of Commissioners, that such group— 

10 ‘‘(A) is a group of three or more Commis11 sioners; and 

12 ‘‘(B) includes, for each political party of 

13 which any Commissioner is a member, at least 

14 one Commissioner who is a member of such po15 litical party, and, if any Commissioner has no 

16 political party affiliation, at least one unaffili17 ated Commissioner. 

18 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE MEASURE.—The term ‘per19 formance measure’ means an objective and quantifi20 able outcome measure or output measure (as such 

21 terms are defined in section 1115 of title 31, United 

22 States Code). 

23 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM ACTIVITY.—The term ‘program 

24 activity’ has the meaning given such term in section 

25 1115 of title 31, United States Code, except that such 


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1 term also includes any annual collection or distribu2 tion or related series of collections or distributions by 

3 the Commission of an amount that is greater than or 

4 equal to $100,000,000. 

5 ‘‘(5) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘agency 

6 action’, ‘ex parte communication’, and ‘rule’ have the 

7 meanings given such terms in section 551 of title 5, 

8 United States Code.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES AND IMPLEMENTING RULES.— 

10 (1) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

11 (A) NONPUBLIC COLLABORATIVE DISCUS12 SIONS.—Subsection (c) of section 13 of the Com13 munications Act of 1934, as added by subsection 

14 (a), shall apply beginning on the first date on 

15 which all of the procedural changes to the rules 

16 of the Commission required by subsection (a)(1) 

17 of such section have taken effect. 

18 (B) REPORT RELEASE SCHEDULES.—Sub19 section (j) of such section 13 shall apply with re20 spect to 2019 and any year thereafter. 

21 (C) ANNUAL SCORECARD REPORTS.—Sub22 section (k) of such section 13 shall apply with re23 spect to 2018 and any year thereafter. 

24 (D) INTERNET PUBLICATION OF CERTAIN

25 FCC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—Subsection (e) 


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1 of such section 13 shall apply beginning on the 

2 date that is 30 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act. 

4 (2) RULES.—Except as otherwise provided in 

5 such section 13, the Commission shall promulgate any 

6 rules necessary to carry out such section not later 

7 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act. 

9 SEC. 202. CATEGORIZATION OF TCPA INQUIRIES AND COM10 PLAINTS IN QUARTERLY REPORT. 

11 In compiling its quarterly report with respect to infor12 mal consumer inquiries and complaints, the Commission 

13 may not categorize an inquiry or complaint with respect 

14 to section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

15 U.S.C. 227) as being a wireline inquiry or complaint or 

16 a wireless inquiry or complaint unless the party whose con17 duct is the subject of the inquiry or complaint is a wireline 

18 carrier or a wireless carrier, respectively. 

19 SEC. 203. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

20 Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this 

21 title shall relieve the Commission from any obligations 

22 under title 5, United States Code, except where otherwise 

23 expressly provided. 


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1 SEC. 204. APPLICATION OF ANTIDEFICIENCY ACT TO UNI2 VERSAL SERVICE PROGRAM. 

3 Section 302 of Public Law 108–494 (118 Stat. 3998) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2018’’ each place it 

5 appears and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 205. REPORT ON IMPROVING SMALL BUSINESS PAR7 TICIPATION IN FCC PROCEEDINGS. 

8 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act, the Commission, in consultation with the Ad10 ministrator of the Small Business Administration, shall 

11 submit to Congress a report on— 

12 (1) actions that the Commission will take to im13 prove the participation of small businesses in the pro14 ceedings of the Commission; and 

15 (2) recommendations for any legislation that the 

16 Commission considers appropriate to improve such 

17 participation. 

18 SEC. 206. TIMELY AVAILABILITY OF ITEMS ADOPTED BY 

19 VOTE OF THE COMMISSION. 

20 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 4 of the Communications 

21 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 154) is amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: 

23 ‘‘(o) In the case of any item that is adopted by vote 

24 of the Commission, the Commission shall publish on the 

25 Internet website of the Commission the text of such item 

26 not later than 7 days after the Secretary of the Commission 


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1 has received dissenting statements from all Commissioners 

2 wishing to submit such a statement with respect to such 

3 item.’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by this 

5 section shall apply with respect to an item that is adopted 

6 after the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act. 

8 TITLE III—SECURING ACCESS TO 

9 NETWORKS IN DISASTERS 

10 SEC. 301. STUDY ON NETWORK RESILIENCY. 

11 Not later than 36 months after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress, and 

13 make publically available on the Commission’s website, a 

14 study on the public safety benefits and technical feasibility 

15 and cost of— 

16 (1) making telecommunications service provider17 owned WiFi access points, and other communications 

18 technologies operating on unlicensed spectrum, avail19 able to the general public for access to 9–1–1 services, 

20 without requiring any login credentials, during times 

21 of emergency when mobile service is unavailable; 

22 (2) the provision by non-telecommunications 

23 service provider-owned WiFi access points of public 

24 access to 9–1–1 services during times of emergency 

25 when mobile service is unavailable; and 


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1 (3) other alternative means of providing the pub2 lic with access to 9–1–1 services during times of emer3 gency when mobile service is unavailable. 

4 SEC. 302. ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS DUR5 ING FEDERALLY DECLARED EMERGENCIES. 

6 Section 427(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

7 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189e(a)) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘tele11 communications service’’ and inserting ‘‘wireline 

12 or mobile telephone service, Internet access serv13 ice, radio or television broadcasting, cable serv14 ice, or direct broadcast satellite service’’; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 

16 semicolon and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

17 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

18 through (E) as clauses (i) through (v), respec19 tively; and 

20 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(B) is a tower owner or operator;’’; and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘(1) provides’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘(1)(A) provides’’. 

24 SEC. 303. DEFINITIONS. 

25 As used in this title— 


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1 (1) the term ‘‘mobile service’’ means commercial 

2 mobile service (as defined in section 332 of the Com3 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332)) or commer4 cial mobile data service (as defined in section 6001 of 

5 the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 

6 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401)); 

7 (2) the term ‘‘WiFi access point’’ means wireless 

8 Internet access using the standard designated as 

9 802.11 or any variant thereof; and 

10 (3) the term ‘‘times of emergency’’ means either 

11 an emergency as defined in section 102 of the Robert 

12 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

13 Act (42 U.S.C. 5122), or an emergency as declared by 

14 the governor of a State or territory of the United 

15 States. 

16 TITLE IV—FCC CONSOLIDATED 

17 REPORTING 

18 SEC. 401. COMMUNICATIONS MARKETPLACE REPORT. 

19 Title I of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended 

20 by section 201(a), is further amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 14. COMMUNICATIONS MARKETPLACE REPORT. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the last quarter of every even24 numbered year, the Commission shall publish on its website 

25 and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 


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1 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com2 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

3 on the state of the communications marketplace. 

4 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each report required by subsection 

5 (a) shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) assess the state of competition in the com7 munications marketplace, including competition to 

8 deliver voice, video, audio, and data services among 

9 providers of telecommunications, providers of com10 mercial mobile service (as defined in section 332), 

11 multichannel video programming distributors (as de12 fined in section 602), broadcast stations, providers of 

13 satellite communications, Internet service providers, 

14 and other providers of communications services; 

15 ‘‘(2) assess the state of deployment of commu16 nications capabilities, including advanced tele17 communications capability (as defined in section 706 

18 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 

19 1302)), regardless of the technology used for such de20 ployment, including whether advanced telecommuni21 cations capability is being deployed to all Americans 

22 in a reasonable and timely fashion; 

23 ‘‘(3) assess whether laws, regulations, or regu24 latory practices (whether those of the Federal Govern25 ment, States, political subdivisions of States, Indian 


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1 tribes or tribal organizations (as such terms are de2 fined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

3 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)), or 

4 foreign governments) pose a barrier to competitive 

5 entry into the communications marketplace or to the 

6 competitive expansion of existing providers of commu7 nications services; 

8 ‘‘(4) describe the agenda of the Commission for 

9 the next 2-year period for addressing the challenges 

10 and opportunities in the communications marketplace 

11 that were identified through the assessments under 

12 paragraphs (1) through (3); and 

13 ‘‘(5) describe the actions that the Commission 

14 has taken in pursuit of the agenda described pursuant 

15 to paragraph (4) in the previous report submitted 

16 under this section. 

17 ‘‘(c) EXTENSION.—If the President designates a Com18 missioner as Chairman of the Commission during the last 

19 quarter of an even-numbered year, the portion of the report 

20 required by subsection (b)(4) may be published on the 

21 website of the Commission and submitted to the Committee 

22 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

23 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor24 tation of the Senate as an addendum during the first quar25 ter of the following odd-numbered year. 


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1 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) ASSESSING COMPETITION.—In assessing the 

3 state of competition under subsection (b)(1), the Com4 mission shall consider all forms of competition, in5 cluding the effect of intermodal competition, facilities6 based competition, and competition from new and 

7 emergent communications services, including the pro8 vision of content and communications using the 

9 Internet. 

10 ‘‘(2) ASSESSING DEPLOYMENT.—In assessing the 

11 state of deployment under subsection (b)(2), the Com12 mission shall compile a list of geographical areas that 

13 are not served by any provider of advanced tele14 communications capability. 

15 ‘‘(3) INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS AND DEMO16 GRAPHIC INFORMATION.—The Commission may use 

17 readily available data to draw appropriate compari18 sons between the United States communications mar19 ketplace and the international communications mar20 ketplace and to correlate its assessments with demo21 graphic information. 

22 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERING SMALL BUSINESSES.—In as23 sessing the state of competition under subsection 

24 (b)(1) and regulatory barriers under subsection 

25 (b)(3), the Commission shall consider market entry 


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1 barriers for entrepreneurs and other small businesses 

2 in the communications marketplace in accordance 

3 with the national policy under section 257(b). 

4 ‘‘(5) CONSIDERING CABLE RATES.—In assessing 

5 the state of competition under subsection (b)(1), the 

6 Commission shall include in each report required by 

7 subsection (a) the aggregate average total amount 

8 paid by cable systems in compensation under section 

9 325 during the period covered by such report.’’. 

10 SEC. 402. CONSOLIDATION OF REDUNDANT REPORTS; CON11 FORMING AMENDMENTS. 

12 (a) ORBIT ACT REPORT.—Section 646 of the Commu13 nications Satellite Act of 1962 (47 U.S.C. 765e; 114 Stat. 

14 57) is repealed. 

15 (b) SATELLITE COMPETITION REPORT.—Section 4 of 

16 Public Law 109–34 (47 U.S.C. 703) is repealed. 

17 (c) INTERNATIONAL BROADBAND DATA REPORT.—Sec18 tion 103 of the Broadband Data Improvement Act (47 

19 U.S.C. 1303) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking subsection (b); and 

21 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) 

22 as subsections (b) through (d), respectively. 

23 (d) STATUS OF COMPETITION IN THE MARKET FOR

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1 tion 628 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

2 548) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking subsection (g); 

4 (2) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection 

5 (g); and 

6 (3) by transferring subsection (g) (as redesig7 nated) so that it appears after subsection (f). 

8 (e) REPORT ON CABLE INDUSTRY PRICES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 623 of the Commu10 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 543) is amended— 

11 (A) by striking subsection (k); and 

12 (B) by redesignating subsections (l) through 

13 (o) as subsections (k) through (n), respectively. 

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

15 613(a)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

16 U.S.C. 533(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘623(l)’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘623(k)’’. 

18 (f) TRIENNIAL REPORT IDENTIFYING AND ELIMI19 NATING MARKET ENTRY BARRIERS FOR ENTREPRENEURS

20 AND OTHER SMALL BUSINESSES.—Section 257 of the Com21 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 257) is amended by 

22 striking subsection (c). 

23 (g) SECTION 706 REPORT.—Section 706 of the Tele24 communications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302) is amend25 ed— 


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1 (1) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION.—If the Commission determines 

4 in its report under section 14 of the Communications Act 

5 of 1934, after considering the availability of advanced tele6 communications capability to all Americans (including, in 

7 particular, elementary and secondary schools and class8 rooms), that advanced telecommunications capability is not 

9 being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely 

10 fashion, the Commission shall take immediate action to ac11 celerate deployment of such capability by removing barriers 

12 to infrastructure investment and by promoting competition 

13 in the telecommunications market.’’; 

14 (2) by striking subsection (c); 

15 (3) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘this sub16 section’’ and inserting ‘‘this section’’; and 

17 (4) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 

18 (c). 

19 (h) STATE OF COMPETITIVE MARKET CONDITIONS

20 WITH RESPECT TO COMMERCIAL MOBILE RADIO SERV21 ICES.—Section 332(c)(1)(C) of the Communications Act of 

22 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(c)(1)(C)) is amended by striking the 

23 first and second sentences. 

24 (i) PREVIOUSLY ELIMINATED ANNUAL REPORT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Communica2 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 154), as amended by sec3 tion 206(a), is further amended— 

4 (A) by striking subsection (k); 

5 (B) by redesignating subsections (l) through 

6 (n) as subsections (k) through (m), respectively; 

7 and 

8 (C) by redesignating the first subsection (o) 

9 (relating to use of radio and wire communica10 tions in connection with safety of life and prop11 erty) as subsection (n). 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

13 309(j)(8)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

14 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(B)) is amended by striking the last 

15 sentence. 

16 (j) ADDITIONAL OUTDATED REPORTS.—The Commu17 nications Act of 1934 is further amended— 

18 (1) in section 4— 

19 (A) in subsection (b)(2)(B)(ii), by striking 

20 ‘‘and shall furnish notice of such action’’ and all 

21 that follows through ‘‘subject of the waiver’’; and 

22 (B) in subsection (g), by striking paragraph 

23 (2); 

24 (2) in section 215— 

25 (A) by striking subsection (b); and 


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1 (B) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub2 section (b); 

3 (3) in section 227(e), by striking paragraph (4); 

4 (4) in section 309(j)— 

5 (A) by striking paragraph (12); and 

6 (B) in paragraph (15)(C), by striking 

7 clause (iv); 

8 (5) in section 331(b), by striking the last sen9 tence; 

10 (6) in section 336(e), by amending paragraph 

11 (4) to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Commission shall annually 

13 advise the Congress on the amounts collected pursuant 

14 to the program required by this subsection.’’; 

15 (7) in section 339(c), by striking paragraph (1); 

16 (8) in section 396— 

17 (A) by striking subsection (i); 

18 (B) in subsection (k)— 

19 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking sub20 paragraph (F); and 

21 (ii) in paragraph (3)(B)(iii), by strik22 ing subclause (V); 

23 (C) in subsection (l)(1)(B), by striking 

24 ‘‘shall be included’’ and all that follows through 

25 ‘‘The audit report’’; and 


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1 (D) by striking subsection (m); 

2 (9) in section 398(b)(4), by striking the third 

3 sentence; 

4 (10) in section 624A(b)(1)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘REPORT; REGULATIONS’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘REGULATIONS’’; 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘Within 1 year after’’ and 

8 all that follows through ‘‘on means of assuring’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘The Commission shall issue such 

10 regulations as are necessary to assure’’; and 

11 (C) by striking ‘‘Within 180 days after’’ 

12 and all that follows through ‘‘to assure such com13 patibility.’’; and 

14 (11) in section 713, by striking subsection (a). 

15 SEC. 403. EFFECT ON AUTHORITY. 

16 Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this 

17 title shall be construed to expand or contract the authority 

18 of the Commission. 

19 SEC. 404. OTHER REPORTS. 

20 Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this 

21 title shall be construed to prohibit or otherwise prevent the 

22 Commission from producing any additional reports other23 wise within the authority of the Commission. 


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1 TITLE V—ADDITIONAL 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 501. INDEPENDENT INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR FCC. 

4 (a) AMENDMENTS.—The Inspector General Act of 1978 

5 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended— 

6 (1) in section 8G(a)(2), by striking ‘‘the Federal 

7 Communications Commission,’’; and 

8 (2) in section 12— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, the 

10 Federal Communications Commission,’’ after 

11 ‘‘the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Com12 mission’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘the 

14 Federal Communications Commission,’’ after 

15 ‘‘the Environmental Protection Agency,’’. 

16 (b) TRANSITION RULE.—An individual serving as In17 spector General of the Commission on the date of the enact18 ment of this Act pursuant to an appointment made under 

19 section 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

20 App.)— 

21 (1) may continue so serving until the President 

22 makes an appointment under section 3(a) of such Act 

23 with respect to the Commission consistent with the 

24 amendments made by subsection (a); and 


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1 (2) shall, while serving under paragraph (1), re2 main subject to the provisions of section 8G of such 

3 Act which, immediately before the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, applied with respect to the Inspector 

5 General of the Commission and suffer no reduction in 

6 pay. 

7 SEC. 502. AUTHORITY OF CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall ensure that 

9 the Chief Information Officer of the Commission has a sig10 nificant role in— 

11 (1) the decision-making process for annual and 

12 multi-year planning, programming, budgeting, and 

13 execution decisions, related reporting requirements, 

14 and reports related to information technology; 

15 (2) the management, governance, and oversight 

16 processes related to information technology; and 

17 (3) the hiring of personnel with information 

18 technology responsibilities. 

19 (b) CIO APPROVAL.—The Chief Information Officer of 

20 the Commission, in consultation with the Chief Financial 

21 Officer of the Commission and budget officials, shall specify 

22 and approve the allocation of amounts appropriated to the 

23 Commission for information technology, consistent with the 

24 provisions of appropriations Acts, budget guidelines, and 


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1 recommendations from the Director of the Office of Manage2 ment and Budget. 

3 SEC. 503. SPOOFING PREVENTION. 

4 (a) EXPANDING AND CLARIFYING PROHIBITION ON

5 MISLEADING OR INACCURATE CALLER IDENTIFICATION IN6 FORMATION.— 

7 (1) COMMUNICATIONS FROM OUTSIDE THE

8 UNITED STATES.—Section 227(e)(1) of the Commu9 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1)) is amend10 ed by striking ‘‘in connection with any telecommuni11 cations service or IP-enabled voice service’’ and in12 serting ‘‘or any person outside the United States if 

13 the recipient is within the United States, in connec14 tion with any voice service or text messaging service’’. 

15 (2) COVERAGE OF TEXT MESSAGES AND VOICE

16 SERVICES.—Section 227(e)(8) of the Communications 

17 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(8)) is amended— 

18 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘tele19 communications service or IP-enabled voice serv20 ice’’ and inserting ‘‘voice service or a text mes21 sage sent using a text messaging service’’; 

22 (B) in the first sentence of subparagraph 

23 (B), by striking ‘‘telecommunications service or 

24 IP-enabled voice service’’ and inserting ‘‘voice 


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1 service or a text message sent using a text mes2 saging service’’; and 

3 (C) by striking subparagraph (C) and in4 serting the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) TEXT MESSAGE.—The term ‘text mes6 sage’— 

7 ‘‘(i) means a message consisting of 

8 text, images, sounds, or other information 

9 that is transmitted to or from a device that 

10 is identified as the receiving or transmit11 ting device by means of a 10-digit telephone 

12 number or N11 service code; 

13 ‘‘(ii) includes a short message service 

14 (commonly referred to as ‘SMS’) message 

15 and a multimedia message service (com16 monly referred to as ‘MMS’) message; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) does not include— 

18 ‘‘(I) a real-time, two-way voice or 

19 video communication; or 

20 ‘‘(II) a message sent over an IP21 enabled messaging service to another 

22 user of the same messaging service, ex23 cept a message described in clause (ii). 

24 ‘‘(D) TEXT MESSAGING SERVICE.—The term 

25 ‘text messaging service’ means a service that enVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Mar 06, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4986.RH H4986

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1 ables the transmission or receipt of a text mes2 sage, including a service provided as part of or 

3 in connection with a voice service. 

4 ‘‘(E) VOICE SERVICE.—The term ‘voice serv5 ice’— 

6 ‘‘(i) means any service that is inter7 connected with the public switched telephone 

8 network and that furnishes voice commu9 nications to an end user using resources 

10 from the North American Numbering Plan 

11 or any successor to the North American 

12 Numbering Plan adopted by the Commis13 sion under section 251(e)(1); and 

14 ‘‘(ii) includes transmissions from a 

15 telephone facsimile machine, computer, or 

16 other device to a telephone facsimile ma17 chine.’’. 

18 (3) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 227(e) of 

19 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)) 

20 is amended in the heading by inserting ‘‘MISLEADING

21 OR’’ before ‘‘INACCURATE’’. 

22 (4) REGULATIONS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 227(e)(3)(A) of 

24 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

25 227(e)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘Not later 


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1 than 6 months after the date of enactment of the 

2 Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, the Commis3 sion’’ and inserting ‘‘The Commission’’. 

4 (B) DEADLINE.—The Commission shall pre5 scribe regulations to implement the amendments 

6 made by this subsection not later than 18 months 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 (5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

9 by this subsection shall take effect on the date that is 

10 6 months after the date on which the Commission pre11 scribes regulations under paragraph (4). 

12 (b) CONSUMER EDUCATION MATERIALS ON HOW TO

13 AVOID SCAMS THAT RELY UPON MISLEADING OR INAC14 CURATE CALLER IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION.— 

15 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS.—Not later 

16 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

17 the Commission, in coordination with the Federal 

18 Trade Commission, shall develop consumer education 

19 materials that provide information about— 

20 (A) ways for consumers to identify scams 

21 and other fraudulent activity that rely upon the 

22 use of misleading or inaccurate caller identifica23 tion information; and 


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1 (B) existing technologies, if any, that a con2 sumer can use to protect against such scams and 

3 other fraudulent activity. 

4 (2) CONTENTS.—In developing the consumer 

5 education materials under paragraph (1), the Com6 mission shall— 

7 (A) identify existing technologies, if any, 

8 that can help consumers guard themselves 

9 against scams and other fraudulent activity that 

10 rely upon the use of misleading or inaccurate 

11 caller identification information, including— 

12 (i) descriptions of how a consumer can 

13 use the technologies to protect against such 

14 scams and other fraudulent activity; and 

15 (ii) details on how consumers can ac16 cess and use the technologies; and 

17 (B) provide other information that may 

18 help consumers identify and avoid scams and 

19 other fraudulent activity that rely upon the use 

20 of misleading or inaccurate caller identification 

21 information. 

22 (3) UPDATES.—The Commission shall ensure 

23 that the consumer education materials required under 

24 paragraph (1) are updated on a regular basis. 


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1 (4) WEBSITE.—The Commission shall include 

2 the consumer education materials developed under 

3 paragraph (1) on its website. 

4 (c) GAO REPORT ON COMBATING THE FRAUDULENT

5 PROVISION OF MISLEADING OR INACCURATE CALLER IDEN6 TIFICATION INFORMATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

8 the United States shall conduct a study of the actions 

9 the Commission and the Federal Trade Commission 

10 have taken to combat the fraudulent provision of mis11 leading or inaccurate caller identification informa12 tion, and the additional measures that could be taken 

13 to combat such activity. 

14 (2) REQUIRED CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting 

15 the study under paragraph (1), the Comptroller Gen16 eral shall examine— 

17 (A) trends in the types of scams that rely 

18 on misleading or inaccurate caller identification 

19 information; 

20 (B) previous and current enforcement ac21 tions by the Commission and the Federal Trade 

22 Commission to combat the practices prohibited 

23 by section 227(e)(1) of the Communications Act 

24 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1)); 


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1 (C) current efforts by industry groups and 

2 other entities to develop technical standards to 

3 deter or prevent the fraudulent provision of mis4 leading or inaccurate caller identification infor5 mation, and how such standards may help com6 bat the current and future provision of mis7 leading or inaccurate caller identification infor8 mation; and 

9 (D) whether there are additional actions the 

10 Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and 

11 Congress should take to combat the fraudulent 

12 provision of misleading or inaccurate caller 

13 identification information. 

14 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

16 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Com17 merce of the House of Representatives and the Com18 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

19 the Senate a report on the findings of the study under 

20 paragraph (1), including any recommendations re21 garding combating the fraudulent provision of mis22 leading or inaccurate caller identification informa23 tion. 

24 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec25 tion, or the amendments made by this section, shall be conVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Mar 06, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4986.RH H4986

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1 strued to modify, limit, or otherwise affect any rule or order 

2 adopted by the Commission in connection with— 

3 (1) the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 

4 1991 (Public Law 102–243; 105 Stat. 2394) or the 

5 amendments made by that Act; or 

6 (2) the CAN–SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 7701 

7 et seq.). 

8 SEC. 504. REPORT ON PROMOTING BROADBAND INTERNET 

9 ACCESS SERVICE FOR VETERANS. 

10 (a) VETERAN DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

11 ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning given the term in section 101 

12 of title 38, United States Code. 

13 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

15 submit to Congress a report on promoting broadband Inter16 net access service for veterans, in particular low-income vet17 erans and veterans residing in rural areas. In such report, 

18 the Commission shall— 

19 (1) examine such access and how to promote such 

20 access; and 

21 (2) provide findings and recommendations for 

22 Congress with respect to such access and how to pro23 mote such access. 

24 (c) PUBLIC NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO COM25 MENT.—In preparing the report required by subsection (b), 


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1 the Commission shall provide the public with notice and 

2 an opportunity to comment on broadband Internet access 

3 service for veterans, in particular low-income veterans and 

4 veterans residing in rural areas, and how to promote such 

5 access. 

6 SEC. 505. METHODOLOGY FOR COLLECTION OF MOBILE 

7 SERVICE COVERAGE DATA. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

9 (1) the term ‘‘commercial mobile data service’’ 

10 has the meaning given the term in section 6001 of the 

11 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 

12 (47 U.S.C. 1401); 

13 (2) the term ‘‘commercial mobile service’’ has the 

14 meaning given the term in section 332(d) of the Com15 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)); 

16 (3) the term ‘‘coverage data’’ means, if commer17 cial mobile service or commercial mobile data service 

18 is available, general information about the service, 

19 which may include available speed tiers, radio fre20 quency signal levels, and network and performance 

21 characteristics; and 

22 (4) the term ‘‘Universal Service program’’ means 

23 the universal service support mechanisms established 

24 under section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 


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1 (47 U.S.C. 254) and the regulations issued under that 

2 section. 

3 (b) METHODOLOGY ESTABLISHED.—Not later than 

4 180 days after the conclusion of the Mobility Fund Phase 

5 II Auction, the Commission shall promulgate regulations 

6 to establish a methodology that shall apply to the collection 

7 of coverage data by the Commission for the purposes of— 

8 (1) the Universal Service program; or 

9 (2) any other similar program. 

10 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The methodology established 

11 under subsection (b) shall— 

12 (1) contain standard definitions for different 

13 available technologies such as 2G, 3G, 4G, and 4G 

14 LTE; 

15 (2) enhance the consistency and robustness of 

16 how the data are collected by different parties; 

17 (3) improve the validity and reliability of cov18 erage data; and 

19 (4) increase the efficiency of coverage data collec20 tion. 

21 SEC. 506. ACCURACY OF DISPATCHABLE LOCATION FOR 9-1- 

22 1 CALLS. 

23 (a) PROCEEDING REQUIRED.—Not later than 18 

24 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Com25 mission shall conclude a proceeding to consider adopting 


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1 rules to ensure that the dispatchable location is conveyed 

2 with a 9-1-1 call, regardless of the technological platform 

3 used and including with calls from multi-line telephone sys4 tems (as defined in section 6502 of the Middle Class Tax 

5 Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1471)). 

6 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROCEEDINGS.—In con7 ducting the proceeding required by subsection (a), the Com8 mission may consider information and conclusions from 

9 other Commission proceedings regarding the accuracy of the 

10 dispatchable location for a 9-1-1 call, but nothing in this 

11 section shall be construed to require the Commission to re12 consider any information or conclusion from a proceeding 

13 regarding the accuracy of the dispatchable location for a 

14 9-1-1 call in which the Commission has adopted rules or 

15 issued an order before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) 9-1-1 CALL.—The term ‘‘9-1-1 call’’ means a 

18 voice call that is placed, or a message that is sent by 

19 other means of communication, to a public safety an20 swering point (as defined in section 222 of the Com21 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222)) for the 

22 purpose of requesting emergency services. 

23 (2) DISPATCHABLE LOCATION.—The term 

24 ‘‘dispatchable location’’ means the street address of 

25 the calling party, and additional information such as 


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1 room number, floor number, or similar information 

2 necessary to adequately identify the location of the 

3 calling party. 

4 SEC. 507. NTIA STUDY ON INTERAGENCY PROCESS FOL5 LOWING CYBERSECURITY INCIDENTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary of Com7 merce for Communications and Information shall complete 

8 a study on how the National Telecommunications and In9 formation Administration can best coordinate the inter10 agency process following cybersecurity incidents. 

11 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 months 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 

13 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 

14 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Com15 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

16 Senate a report detailing the findings and recommenda17 tions of the study conducted under subsection (a). 

18 SEC. 508. TRIBAL DIGITAL ACCESS. 

19 (a) TRIBAL BROADBAND DATA REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 

22 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Com23 merce of the House of Representatives and the Com24 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

25 the Senate a report evaluating broadband coverage in 


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1 Indian country (as defined in section 1151 of title 18, 

2 United States Code) and on land held by a Native 

3 Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims 

4 Settlement Act. 

5 (2) REQUIRED ASSESSMENTS.—The report re6 quired by paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

7 (A) An assessment of areas of Indian coun8 try (as so defined) and land held by a Native 

9 Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native 

10 Claims Settlement Act that have adequate 

11 broadband coverage. 

12 (B) An assessment of unserved areas of In13 dian country (as so defined) and land held by a 

14 Native Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Na15 tive Claims Settlement Act. 

16 (b) TRIBAL BROADBAND RULEMAKING.—Not later 

17 than 30 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

18 the Commission shall complete a proceeding to address the 

19 unserved areas identified in the report under subsection (a). 

20 TITLE VI—VIEWER PROTECTION 

21 SEC. 601. RESERVE SOURCE FOR PAYMENT OF TV BROAD22 CASTER RELOCATION COSTS. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is established 

24 in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known 

25 as the Broadcast Repack Fund. 


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1 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission makes the 

3 certification described in paragraph (2), amounts in 

4 the Broadcast Repack Fund shall be available to the 

5 Commission to make reimbursements pursuant to 

6 subsection (b)(4)(A)(i) or (b)(4)(A)(ii) of section 6403 

7 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act 

8 of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452). 

9 (2) CERTIFICATION.—The certification described 

10 in this paragraph is a certification from the Commis11 sion to the Secretary of the Treasury that the funds 

12 available in the TV Broadcaster Relocation Fund es13 tablished under subsection (d) of such section are like14 ly to be insufficient to reimburse reasonably incurred 

15 costs described in subsection (b)(4)(A)(i) or 

16 (b)(4)(A)(ii) of such section. 

17 (3) AVAILABILITY FOR PAYMENTS AFTER APRIL

18 13, 2020.—Notwithstanding subsection (b)(4)(D) of 

19 such section, the Commission may make payments 

20 pursuant to subsection (b)(4)(A)(i) or (b)(4)(A)(ii) of 

21 such section from the Broadcast Repack Fund after 

22 April 13, 2020, if, before making any such payments 

23 after such date, the Commission submits to Congress 

24 a certification that such payments are necessary to 


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1 reimburse reasonably incurred costs described in such 

2 subsection. 

3 (c) UNUSED FUNDS RESCINDED AND DEPOSITED INTO

4 THE GENERAL FUND OF THE TREASURY.— 

5 (1) RESCISSION AND DEPOSIT.—If any unobli6 gated amounts remain in the Broadcast Repack Fund 

7 after the date described in paragraph (2), such 

8 amounts shall be rescinded and deposited into the 

9 general fund of the Treasury, where such amounts 

10 shall be dedicated for the sole purpose of deficit reduc11 tion. 

12 (2) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date described in 

13 this paragraph is the earlier of— 

14 (A) the date of a certification by the Com15 mission under paragraph (3) that all reimburse16 ments pursuant to subsections (b)(4)(A)(i) and 

17 (b)(4)(A)(ii) of such section 6403 have been 

18 made; or 

19 (B) July 3, 2022. 

20 (3) CERTIFICATION.—If all reimbursements pur21 suant to subsections (b)(4)(A)(i) and (b)(4)(A)(ii) of 

22 such section 6403 have been made before July 3, 2022, 

23 the Commission shall submit to the Secretary of the 

24 Treasury a certification that all such reimbursements 

25 have been made. 


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1 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The amount of auction 

2 proceeds that the salaries and expenses account of the Com3 mission is required to retain under section 309(j)(8)(B) of 

4 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(B)), 

5 including from the proceeds of the forward auction under 

6 section 6403 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cre7 ation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452), shall be sufficient to 

8 cover the administrative costs incurred by the Commission 

9 in making any reimbursements out of the Broadcast Repack 

10 Fund. 

11 SEC. 602. PAYMENT OF RELOCATION COSTS OF TELEVISION 

12 TRANSLATOR STATIONS AND LOW POWER 

13 TELEVISION STATIONS. 

14 (a) PAYMENT REQUIRED.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail16 able under subsection (b)(2), the Commission shall re17 imburse costs reasonably incurred by a television 

18 translator station or low power television station on 

19 or after January 1, 2017, in order for such station 

20 to relocate its television service from one channel to 

21 another channel or otherwise modify its facility as a 

22 result of the reorganization of broadcast television 

23 spectrum under subsection (b) of section 6403 of the 

24 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 

25 (47 U.S.C. 1452). Only stations that are eligible to 


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1 file and do file an application in the Commission’s 

2 Special Displacement Window are eligible to seek re3 imbursement under this paragraph. 

4 (2) LIMITATION.—The Commission may not 

5 make reimbursements under paragraph (1) for lost 

6 revenues. 

7 (3) DUPLICATIVE PAYMENTS PROHIBITED.—In 

8 the case of a low power television station that has 

9 been accorded primary status as a Class A television 

10 licensee under section 73.6001(a) of title 47, Code of 

11 Federal Regulations— 

12 (A) if the licensee of such station has re13 ceived reimbursement with respect to such sta14 tion under subsection (b)(4)(A)(i) of such section 

15 6403 (including from amounts made available 

16 under section 601 of this title), or from any 

17 other source, such station may not receive reim18 bursement under paragraph (1); and 

19 (B) if such station has received reimburse20 ment under paragraph (1), the licensee of such 

21 station may not receive reimbursement with re22 spect to such station under subsection 

23 (b)(4)(A)(i) of such section 6403. 

24 (4) ADDITIONAL LIMITATION.—The Commission 

25 may not make reimbursement under paragraph (1) 


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1 for costs incurred to resolve mutually exclusive appli2 cations, including costs incurred in any auction of 

3 available channels. 

4 (b) FUNDING.— 

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab6 lished in the Treasury of the United States a fund to 

7 be known as the Translator and Low Power Station 

8 Relocation Fund. 

9 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Trans11 lator and Low Power Station Relocation Fund 

12 shall be available to the Commission to make 

13 payments required by subsection (a)(1). 

14 (B) AVAILABILITY AFTER APRIL 13, 2020.— 

15 Amounts in the Translator and Low Power Sta16 tion Relocation Fund shall not be available to 

17 the Commission to make payments required by 

18 subsection (a)(1) after April 13, 2020, unless, be19 fore making any such payments after such date, 

20 the Commission submits to Congress a certifi21 cation that such payments are necessary to reim22 burse costs reasonably incurred by a television 

23 translator station or low power television station 

24 on or after January 1, 2017, in order for such 

25 station to relocate its television service from one 


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1 channel to another channel or otherwise modify 

2 its facility as a result of the reorganization of 

3 broadcast television spectrum under subsection 

4 (b) of section 6403 of the Middle Class Tax Relief 

5 and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452). 

6 (3) UNUSED FUNDS RESCINDED AND DEPOSITED

7 INTO THE GENERAL FUND OF THE TREASURY.— 

8 (A) RESCISSION AND DEPOSIT.—If any un9 obligated amounts remain in the Translator and 

10 Low Power Station Relocation Fund after the 

11 date described in subparagraph (B), such 

12 amounts shall be rescinded and deposited into 

13 the general fund of the Treasury, where such 

14 amounts shall be dedicated for the sole purpose 

15 of deficit reduction. 

16 (B) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date described 

17 in this subparagraph is the earlier of— 

18 (i) the date of a certification by the 

19 Commission under subparagraph (C) that 

20 all reimbursements pursuant to subsection 

21 (a)(1) have been made; or 

22 (ii) July 3, 2023. 

23 (C) CERTIFICATION.—If all reimbursements 

24 pursuant to subsection (a)(1) have been made be25 fore July 3, 2023, the Commission shall submit 


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1 to the Secretary of the Treasury a certification 

2 that all such reimbursements have been made. 

3 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The amount of auction 

4 proceeds that the salaries and expenses account of the Com5 mission is required to retain under section 309(j)(8)(B) of 

6 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(B)), 

7 including from the proceeds of the forward auction under 

8 section 6403 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cre9 ation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452), shall be sufficient to 

10 cover the administrative costs incurred by the Commission 

11 in making any reimbursements out of the Translator and 

12 Low Power Station Relocation Fund. 

13 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) LOW POWER TELEVISION STATION.—The 

15 term ‘‘low power television station’’ means a low 

16 power TV station (as defined in section 74.701 of title 

17 47, Code of Federal Regulations) that was licensed 

18 and transmitting for at least 9 of the 12 months prior 

19 to April 13, 2017. For purposes of the preceding sen20 tence, the operation of analog and digital companion 

21 facilities may be combined. 

22 (2) TELEVISION TRANSLATOR STATION.—The 

23 term ‘‘television translator station’’ means a tele24 vision broadcast translator station (as defined in sec25 tion 74.701 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations) 


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1 that was licensed and transmitting for at least 9 of 

2 the 12 months prior to April 13, 2017. For purposes 

3 of the preceding sentence, the operation of analog and 

4 digital companion facilities may be combined. 

5 SEC. 603. PAYMENT OF RELOCATION COSTS OF FM BROAD6 CAST STATIONS. 

7 (a) PAYMENT REQUIRED.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail9 able under subsection (b)(2), the Commission shall re10 imburse costs reasonably incurred by an FM broad11 cast station for facilities necessary for such station to 

12 reasonably minimize disruption of service as a result 

13 of the reorganization of broadcast television spectrum 

14 under subsection (b) of section 6403 of the Middle 

15 Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 

16 U.S.C. 1452). 

17 (2) LIMITATION.—The Commission may not 

18 make reimbursements under paragraph (1) for lost 

19 revenues. 

20 (3) DUPLICATIVE PAYMENTS PROHIBITED.—If an 

21 FM broadcast station has received a payment for in22 terim facilities from the licensee of a television broad23 cast station that was reimbursed for such payment 

24 under subsection (b)(4)(A)(i) of such section 6403 (in25 cluding from amounts made available under section 


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1 601 of this title), or from any other source, such FM 

2 broadcast station may not receive any reimburse3 ments under paragraph (1). 

4 (b) FUNDING.— 

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab6 lished in the Treasury of the United States a fund to 

7 be known as the FM Broadcast Station Relocation 

8 Fund. 

9 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the FM 

11 Broadcast Station Relocation Fund shall be 

12 available to the Commission to make payments 

13 required by subsection (a)(1). 

14 (B) AVAILABILITY AFTER APRIL 13, 2020.— 

15 Amounts in the FM Broadcast Station Reloca16 tion Fund shall not be available to the Commis17 sion to make payments required by subsection 

18 (a)(1) after April 13, 2020, unless, before making 

19 any such payments after such date, the Commis20 sion submits to Congress a certification that such 

21 payments are necessary to reimburse costs rea22 sonably incurred by an FM broadcast station for 

23 facilities necessary for such station to reasonably 

24 minimize disruption of service as a result of the 

25 reorganization of broadcast television spectrum 


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1 under subsection (b) of section 6403 of the Mid2 dle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 

3 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452). 

4 (3) UNUSED FUNDS RESCINDED AND DEPOSITED

5 INTO THE GENERAL FUND OF THE TREASURY.— 

6 (A) RESCISSION AND DEPOSIT.—If any un7 obligated amounts remain in the FM Broadcast 

8 Station Relocation Fund after the date described 

9 in subparagraph (B), such amounts shall be re10 scinded and deposited into the general fund of 

11 the Treasury, where such amounts shall be dedi12 cated for the sole purpose of deficit reduction. 

13 (B) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date described 

14 in this subparagraph is the earlier of— 

15 (i) the date of a certification by the 

16 Commission under subparagraph (C) that 

17 all reimbursements pursuant to subsection 

18 (a)(1) have been made; or 

19 (ii) July 3, 2022. 

20 (C) CERTIFICATION.—If all reimbursements 

21 pursuant to subsection (a)(1) have been made be22 fore July 3, 2022, the Commission shall submit 

23 to the Secretary of the Treasury a certification 

24 that all such reimbursements have been made. 


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1 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The amount of auction 

2 proceeds that the salaries and expenses account of the Com3 mission is required to retain under section 309(j)(8)(B) of 

4 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(B)), 

5 including from the proceeds of the forward auction under 

6 section 6403 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cre7 ation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452), shall be sufficient to 

8 cover the administrative costs incurred by the Commission 

9 in making any reimbursements out of the FM Broadcast 

10 Station Relocation Fund. 

11 (d) FM BROADCAST STATION DEFINED.—In this sec12 tion, the term ‘‘FM broadcast station’’ has the meaning 

13 given such term in section 73.310 of title 47, Code of Fed14 eral Regulations. 

15 SEC. 604. CONSUMER EDUCATION PAYMENT. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is established 

17 in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known 

18 as the Broadcast Station Relocation Consumer Education 

19 Fund. 

20 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Broad21 cast Station Relocation Consumer Education Fund shall be 

22 available to the Commission to make payments solely for 

23 the purposes of consumer education relating to the reorga24 nization of broadcast television spectrum under subsection 


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1 (b) of section 6403 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 

2 Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452). 

3 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The amount of auction 

4 proceeds that the salaries and expenses account of the Com5 mission is required to retain under section 309(j)(8)(B) of 

6 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(B)), 

7 including from the proceeds of the forward auction under 

8 section 6403 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cre9 ation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452), shall be sufficient to 

10 cover the administrative costs incurred by the Commission 

11 in making any payments out of the Broadcast Station Relo12 cation Consumer Education Fund. 

13 SEC. 605. IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT. 

14 The Commission shall implement and enforce this title 

15 as if this title is a part of the Communications Act of 1934 

16 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). A violation of this title, or a regula17 tion promulgated under this title, shall be considered to be 

18 a violation of the Communications Act of 1934, or a regula19 tion promulgated under such Act, respectively. 

20 SEC. 606. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

21 Nothing in this title shall alter the final transition 

22 phase completion date established by the Commission for 

23 full power and Class A television stations. 


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Union Calendar No. 445 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4986 

[Report No. 115–587, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to reposes. and efficient decisionmaking, and for other pur- to maximize opportunities for public participation cedural changes to the rules of the Commission nications Commission, to provide for certain pro- authorize appropriations for the Federal CommuMARCH 6, 2018 

Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

with an amendment 

MARCH 6, 2018 

The Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure 

the State of the Union and ordered to be printed committed to the Committee of the Whole House on and Oversight and Government Reform discharged; 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS