I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8659 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for requirements 

for the exercise of the emergency powers of the President under section 

706 of such Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 23, 2020 

Ms. ESHOO (for herself and Mr. GRIFFITH) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 

addition to the Committee on Rules, 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 

A BILL 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for 

requirements for the exercise of the emergency powers 

of the President under section 706 of such Act, and 

for other purposes. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Unwar5 ranted Communications Shutdowns Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR EXERCISE OF CERTAIN EMER2 GENCY POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 706 of the Communica4 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 606) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) REQUIREMENTS FOR ACTIONS BY PRESIDENT

7 UNDER THIS SECTION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) STANDARD FOR TAKING ACTION.—The 

9 President may not take an action under subsection 

10 (a), (b), (c), or (d) unless such action is— 

11 ‘‘(A) necessary to protect against an immi12 nent and specific threat to human life or an im13 minent and specific threat to national security; 

14 ‘‘(B) narrowly tailored to achieve the pur15 pose described in subparagraph (A); and 

16 ‘‘(C) the least restrictive means to achieve 

17 such purpose. 

18 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESSIONAL LEAD19 ERS AND SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before or not later 

21 than 12 hours after taking any action under 

22 subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d), the President 

23 shall transmit a notification with respect to 

24 such action that meets the requirements of sub25 paragraph (B) to each congressional leader and 

26 each senior Government official. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements 

2 of this subparagraph for a notification with re3 spect to an action under subsection (a), (b), (c), 

4 or (d) are the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) CONTENTS.—Such notification 

6 shall contain the following: 

7 ‘‘(I) An identification of the war, 

8 threat of war, state of public peril, 

9 disaster, national emergency, or other 

10 circumstance that is the basis for the 

11 President to take such action, as re12 quired by the subsection under which 

13 the President has acted or wishes to 

14 act. 

15 ‘‘(II) A detailed description of 

16 such action, including— 

17 ‘‘(aa) the geographic scope 

18 of such action; 

19 ‘‘(bb) the types of commu20 nications networks impacted by 

21 such action; and 

22 ‘‘(cc) a list of each person to 

23 whom the President has trans24 mitted a communication directing 


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1 such person to comply with such 

2 action. 

3 ‘‘(III) The amount of time (if 

4 any) beyond the period of effective5 ness provided in paragraph (3) for 

6 which the President is requesting au7 thorization to maintain such action. 

8 ‘‘(IV) A justification, with re9 spect to such action and any amount 

10 of time stated under subclause (III), 

11 of how the President reached the de12 termination required for taking an ac13 tion under such subsection (including 

14 the determination that the require15 ments of paragraph (1) of this sub16 section are met). 

17 ‘‘(ii) FORM.—Such notification shall 

18 be in writing. With respect to each con19 gressional leader and each senior Govern20 ment official, the President shall first 

21 transmit such notification to such leader or 

22 official in either physical or electronic 

23 form, whichever the President determines 

24 will result in quicker delivery to such lead25 er or official. The President shall transmit 


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1 such notification to such leader or official 

2 in the other form as soon thereafter as 

3 possible, but failure to transmit such noti4 fication in such other form shall not affect 

5 the validity of the action by the President 

6 to which such notification relates. 

7 ‘‘(iii) TIMING.— 

8 ‘‘(I) CONGRESS.— 

9 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—The 

10 President shall transmit such no11 tification in such a manner so as 

12 to ensure delivery to each con13 gressional leader as close to si14 multaneously as practicable, but 

15 the time between delivery to each 

16 congressional leader shall not be 

17 greater than 1 hour. 

18 ‘‘(bb) OFFICIAL TIME RE19 CEIVED; PUBLICATION.—Each 

20 congressional leader shall record 

21 the official time of the chamber 

22 at receipt. In the case of notifica23 tion to a congressional leader in 

24 both physical and electronic 

25 form, the time recorded shall be 


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1 the time of receipt of the form 

2 that was received first. Each con3 gressional leader shall, imme4 diately upon such receipt, inform 

5 the Clerk of the House or the 

6 Secretary of the Senate (as the 

7 case may be) of the time of re8 ceipt, to be recorded and pub9 lished by the Clerk or Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(cc) 48-HOUR PERIOD DE11 FINED.—In this subsection, the 

12 term ‘48-hour period’ means the 

13 48-hour period that begins at the 

14 third earliest of the 4 times re15 corded under item (bb), including 

16 any extension of such period 

17 under paragraph (4)(D) and ex18 cluding any period disregarded 

19 under paragraph (4)(C)(v). 

20 ‘‘(II) SENIOR GOVERNMENT OF21 FICIALS.—The President shall trans22 mit such notification in such a man23 ner so as to ensure delivery to each 

24 senior Government official not more 

25 than 1 hour after the third earliest of 


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1 the 4 times recorded under subclause 

2 (I)(bb). 

3 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

4 ‘‘(i) PRESUMPTIVELY PUBLIC.—Ex5 cept as provided in clause (ii), the Presi6 dent shall publicly release a notification 

7 transmitted under subparagraph (A) at the 

8 time when the 48-hour period begins. 

9 ‘‘(ii) TEMPORARY WITHHOLDING AND

10 RELEASE.— 

11 ‘‘(I) WITHHOLDING.—The Presi12 dent may withhold from public release 

13 under clause (i) a portion of a notifi14 cation transmitted under subpara15 graph (A) only to the extent that the 

16 President determines that— 

17 ‘‘(aa) secrecy of such portion 

18 is necessary to protect against an 

19 imminent and specific threat to 

20 human life; or 

21 ‘‘(bb) such portion contains 

22 classified information. 

23 ‘‘(II) RELEASE.—Notwithstand24 ing any provision of law or Executive 

25 order regarding the protection of clasVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Nov 13, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8659.IH H8659

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1 sified information, any portion of a 

2 notification transmitted under sub3 paragraph (A) that is withheld under 

4 subclause (I) shall be publicly released 

5 not later than 180 days after— 

6 ‘‘(aa) if there is not enacted 

7 a law authorizing the action by 

8 the President under subsection 

9 (a), (b), (c), or (d) to which such 

10 notification relates to take effect 

11 or to be extended (as the case 

12 may be), the date on which the 

13 48-hour period begins; or 

14 ‘‘(bb) if there is enacted 

15 such a law, the date on which 

16 such action ceases to have any 

17 force or effect under such law (or 

18 any subsequent law authorizing 

19 such action to be extended). 

20 ‘‘(D) INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS.—Con21 sistent with the protection of intelligence 

22 sources and methods, each Commissioner of the 

23 Commission may transmit to Congress an inde24 pendent analysis regarding any matter included 

25 in a notification transmitted by the President 


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1 under subparagraph (A) or related judgments 

2 of the President or facts supplied by the Presi3 dent. 

4 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVENESS OF ACTION.—Unless 

5 there is enacted a law authorizing an action by the 

6 President under subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) to 

7 take effect or to be extended (as the case may be)— 

8 ‘‘(A) if the President fails to transmit to 

9 each congressional leader and each senior Gov10 ernment official a notification with respect to 

11 such action as required by paragraph (2), such 

12 action shall cease to have any force or effect at 

13 the time that is 12 hours after the President 

14 takes such action; and 

15 ‘‘(B) if the President transmits to each 

16 congressional leader and each senior Govern17 ment official a notification with respect to such 

18 action as required by paragraph (2), such ac19 tion shall cease to have any force or effect at, 

20 and may not take effect after, the end of the 

21 48-hour period. 

22 ‘‘(4) PROCEDURES FOR EXPEDITED CONGRES23 SIONAL CONSIDERATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) FAST TRACK CONSIDERATION IN THE

25 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) RECONVENING.—Upon receipt of 

2 a notification under paragraph (2), the 

3 Speaker, if the House would otherwise be 

4 adjourned, shall notify the Members of the 

5 House that, pursuant to this paragraph, 

6 the House shall convene as soon as the 

7 Speaker deems practicable. 

8 ‘‘(ii) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.— 

9 Upon introduction in the House, the ap10 proval legislation shall be placed imme11 diately on the calendar. 

12 ‘‘(iii) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDER13 ATION.—It shall be in order at any time 

14 during the 48-hour period immediately to 

15 move to proceed to consider the approval 

16 legislation in the House. All points of order 

17 against the motion are waived. Such a mo18 tion shall not be in order after the House 

19 has disposed of a motion to proceed on the 

20 approval legislation. The previous question 

21 shall be considered as ordered on the mo22 tion to its adoption without intervening 

23 motion. The motion shall not be debatable. 

24 A motion to reconsider the vote by which 


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1 the motion is disposed of shall not be in 

2 order. 

3 ‘‘(iv) CONSIDERATION.—The approval 

4 legislation shall be considered as read. All 

5 points of order against the approval legis6 lation and against its consideration are 

7 waived. The previous question shall be con8 sidered as ordered on the approval legisla9 tion to its passage without intervening mo10 tion except two hours of debate equally di11 vided and controlled by the proponent and 

12 an opponent. A motion to reconsider the 

13 vote on passage of the approval legislation 

14 shall not be in order. 

15 ‘‘(B) FAST TRACK CONSIDERATION IN THE

16 SENATE.— 

17 ‘‘(i) RECONVENING.—Upon receipt of 

18 a notification under paragraph (2), if the 

19 Senate has adjourned or recessed for more 

20 than 2 days, the majority leader of the 

21 Senate, after consultation with the minor22 ity leader of the Senate, shall notify the 

23 Members of the Senate that, pursuant to 

24 this paragraph, the Senate shall convene 


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1 as soon as the majority leader deems prac2 ticable. 

3 ‘‘(ii) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.— 

4 Upon introduction in the Senate, the ap5 proval legislation shall be placed imme6 diately on the calendar. 

7 ‘‘(iii) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.— 

8 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwith9 standing Rule XXII of the Standing 

10 Rules of the Senate, it is in order at 

11 any time during the 48-hour period to 

12 move to proceed to the consideration 

13 of the approval legislation, and all 

14 points of order against the approval 

15 legislation (and against consideration 

16 of the legislation) are waived. The mo17 tion to proceed is not debatable. The 

18 motion is not subject to a motion to 

19 postpone. A motion to reconsider the 

20 vote by which the motion is agreed to 

21 or disagreed to shall not be in order. 

22 If a motion to proceed to the consider23 ation of the approval legislation is 

24 agreed to, the approval legislation 


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1 shall remain the unfinished business 

2 until disposed of. 

3 ‘‘(II) CONSIDERATION.—Consid4 eration of the approval legislation, and 

5 of all debatable motions and appeals 

6 in connection therewith, shall be lim7 ited to not more than 4 hours, which 

8 shall be divided equally between the 

9 majority and minority leaders or their 

10 designees. A motion further to limit 

11 consideration is in order and not de12 batable. An amendment to, or a mo13 tion to postpone, or a motion to pro14 ceed to the consideration of other 

15 business, or a motion to recommit the 

16 approval legislation is not in order. 

17 ‘‘(III) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—The 

18 vote on passage shall occur imme19 diately following the conclusion of the 

20 debate on the approval legislation, and 

21 a single quorum call at the conclusion 

22 of the debate if requested in accord23 ance with the rules of the Senate. 

24 ‘‘(IV) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR

25 ON PROCEDURE.—Appeals from the 


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1 decisions of the Chair relating to the 

2 application of the rules of the Senate, 

3 as the case may be, to the procedure 

4 relating to the approval legislation 

5 shall be decided without debate. 

6 ‘‘(C) RULES RELATING TO SENATE AND

7 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 

8 ‘‘(i) COORDINATION WITH ACTION BY

9 OTHER HOUSE.—If, before the passage by 

10 one House of approval legislation of that 

11 House relating to an action by the Presi12 dent under subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d), 

13 that House receives from the other House 

14 approval legislation relating to such action, 

15 then the following procedures shall apply: 

16 ‘‘(I) The approval legislation of 

17 the other House shall not be referred 

18 to a committee. 

19 ‘‘(II) With respect to approval 

20 legislation of the House receiving the 

21 approval legislation from the other 

22 House— 

23 ‘‘(aa) the procedure in that 

24 House shall be the same as if no 


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1 approval legislation had been re2 ceived from the other House; but 

3 ‘‘(bb) if— 

4 ‘‘(AA) the approval leg5 islation from the other 

6 House is identical to the ap7 proval legislation then pend8 ing for passage in that 

9 House, the vote on passage 

10 shall be on the approval leg11 islation of the other House; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(BB) the approval leg14 islation received from the 

15 other House is not identical 

16 to the approval legislation 

17 then pending for passage in 

18 that House and that House 

19 then passes the approval leg20 islation of that House, that 

21 House shall be considered to 

22 have passed the approval 

23 legislation from the other 

24 House as amended by the 


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1 text of the approval legisla2 tion of that House. 

3 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF APPROVAL LEG4 ISLATION OF OTHER HOUSE.—If one 

5 House fails to introduce or consider ap6 proval legislation relating to an action by 

7 the President under subsection (a), (b), 

8 (c), or (d), the approval legislation of the 

9 other House relating to such action shall 

10 be entitled to expedited floor procedures 

11 under this paragraph. 

12 ‘‘(iii) TREATMENT OF COMPANION

13 MEASURES.—If, following passage of ap14 proval legislation relating to an action by 

15 the President under subsection (a), (b), 

16 (c), or (d) in the Senate, the Senate then 

17 receives approval legislation relating to 

18 such action from the House of Representa19 tives, the approval legislation from the 

20 House of Representatives shall be entitled 

21 to expedited floor procedures under this 

22 paragraph except it shall not be debatable. 

23 ‘‘(iv) ACTION ON MESSAGE BETWEEN

24 HOUSES.—During the consideration in the 

25 Senate or the House of Representatives of 


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1 a message between Houses on any ap2 proval legislation relating to an action by 

3 the President under subsection (a), (b), 

4 (c), or (d), and all amendments in dis5 agreement, and all amendments thereto, 

6 and debatable motions and appeals in con7 nection therewith, consideration shall be 

8 limited to 2 hours, to be equally divided 

9 between, and controlled by, the majority 

10 leader and minority leader or their des11 ignees. Consideration of any debatable mo12 tion or appeal related to the message shall 

13 be limited to 1 hour, to be equally divided 

14 between, and controlled by, the mover and 

15 the manager of the message. 

16 ‘‘(v) CONSIDERATION AFTER PAS17 SAGE.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If Congress 

19 passes approval legislation, the period 

20 beginning on the date the President is 

21 presented with the legislation and 

22 ending on the date the President 

23 takes action with respect to the legis24 lation shall be disregarded in com25 puting the 48-hour period. 


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1 ‘‘(II) VETOES.—If the President 

2 vetoes the approval legislation— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the period beginning 

4 at the time the President vetoes 

5 the legislation and ending on the 

6 date the Congress receives the 

7 veto message with respect to the 

8 approval legislation shall be dis9 regarded in computing the 48- 

10 hour period; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) debate on a veto mes12 sage in the Senate under this 

13 paragraph shall be 1 hour equally 

14 divided between the majority and 

15 minority leaders or their des16 ignees. 

17 ‘‘(D) EXTENSION OF 48-HOUR PERIOD FOR

18 EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES.—If either chamber 

19 is adjourned when the 48-hour period begins 

20 and cannot practicably reconvene in time to 

21 consider approval legislation in accordance with 

22 this subsection during the 48-hour period, and 

23 if all of the congressional leaders, or their des24 ignees, reach an agreement under which they, 

25 or their designees, determine that the action 


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1 under subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) to which 

2 such notification relates is necessary to protect 

3 against an imminent and specific threat to 

4 human life or an imminent and specific threat 

5 to national security, and that the 48-hour pe6 riod will be extended until such time as they, or 

7 their designees, consider practicable, such pe8 riod shall be extended until such time. Such 

9 agreement shall be provided to the President, 

10 the Members of the House of Representatives 

11 and Senate, and each senior Government offi12 cial. 

13 ‘‘(E) SUPERMAJORITY REQUIRED.—In the 

14 Senate and the House of Representatives, the 

15 approval legislation may only be adopted (in16 cluding in the case of adoption by one House of 

17 approval legislation received from the other 

18 House, with or without amendment) by an af19 firmative vote of not less than— 

20 ‘‘(i) three-fifths of the Members of 

21 each respective chamber, duly chosen and 

22 sworn; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) one-quarter of Members of each 

24 respective chamber who caucus with the 


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1 party that has the second-largest number 

2 of Members of such chamber. 

3 ‘‘(F) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTA4 TIVES AND SENATE.—This paragraph is en5 acted by Congress— 

6 ‘‘(i) as an exercise of the rulemaking 

7 power of the Senate and House of Rep8 resentatives, respectively, and as such it is 

9 deemed a part of the rules of each House, 

10 respectively, but applicable only with re11 spect to the procedure to be followed in 

12 that House in the case of approval legisla13 tion, and it supersedes other rules only to 

14 the extent that it is inconsistent with such 

15 rules; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) with full recognition of the con17 stitutional right of either House to change 

18 the rules (so far as relating to the proce19 dure of that House) at any time, in the 

20 same manner, and to the same extent as in 

21 the case of any other rule of that House. 

22 ‘‘(5) SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS.—If an action by 

23 the President under subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) 

24 does not take effect or ceases to have any force or 

25 effect as provided in this subsection, the same or a 


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1 substantially similar action by the President may not 

2 take effect unless— 

3 ‘‘(A) there is enacted a law authorizing 

4 such same or substantially similar action; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the basis for such same or substan6 tially similar action is a war, threat of war, 

7 state of public peril, disaster, national emer8 gency, or other circumstance that is completely 

9 separate and distinct from the circumstance 

10 that is the basis for the President to take the 

11 earlier action. 

12 ‘‘(6) EARLIER TERMINATION BY PRESIDENT.— 

13 Nothing in this subsection may be construed to pro14 hibit the President from providing that an action 

15 under subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) shall cease to 

16 have any force or effect before the time provided in 

17 this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(7) POST-HOC GAO REPORT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 

20 days after the President takes an action under 

21 subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d), the Comptroller 

22 General of the United States shall submit to 

23 Congress a report on such action. 

24 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A report required by 

25 subparagraph (A) shall assess— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the degree to which the President 

2 adhered to the requirements of this sub3 section, including the standard required by 

4 paragraph (1) for taking such an action; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the impact of the action taken by 

7 the President on— 

8 ‘‘(I) civil liberties and civil rights, 

9 including any disproportionate im10 pacts on marginalized communities; 

11 ‘‘(II) public safety, including 

12 emergency services, emergency sup13 port services, and public safety an14 swering points (as such terms are de15 fined in section 222(h)); 

16 ‘‘(III) functions of Federal, 

17 State, Tribal, and local governments; 

18 ‘‘(IV) the economy, including any 

19 projection of future or ongoing im20 pacts; 

21 ‘‘(V) communications facilities 

22 and the technical architecture of im23 pacted communications networks (in24 cluding the security of such facilities 

25 and networks); and 


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1 ‘‘(VI) private companies. 

2 ‘‘(C) CONSULTATION.—In preparing a re3 port required by subparagraph (A), the Comp4 troller General shall consult with relevant stake5 holders. 

6 ‘‘(D) UNCLASSIFIED FORM.—A report re7 quired by subparagraph (A) shall be submitted 

8 in unclassified form but may contain a classi9 fied annex. 

10 ‘‘(8) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

11 ‘‘(A) APPROVAL LEGISLATION.—The term 

12 ‘approval legislation’ means a joint resolution 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(i) does not contain a preamble; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the matter after the resolving 

16 clause of which is as follows: ‘That Con17 gress approves the action by the President 

18 under section 706 of the Communications 

19 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 606) with respect 

20 to which the President transmitted a noti21 fication under subsection (i)(2) of such 

22 section on llllll, and such action 

23 is authorized to be in effect through 

24 llllll.’, the blank spaces being 

25 appropriately filled in; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) is introduced during the 48-hour 

2 period. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS.—The 

4 term ‘congressional leaders’ means the Speaker 

5 and minority leader of the House of Represent6 atives and the majority leader and minority 

7 leader of the Senate. 

8 ‘‘(C) RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS.—The 

9 term ‘relevant stakeholders’ means— 

10 ‘‘(i) senior Government officials; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the Under Secretary of Com12 merce for Standards and Technology; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the Privacy and Civil Liberties 

14 Oversight Board; 

15 ‘‘(iv) the congressional leaders; and 

16 ‘‘(v) experts from academia, public in17 terest organizations, and private industry 

18 with expertise in— 

19 ‘‘(I) civil liberties and civil rights; 

20 ‘‘(II) economics; 

21 ‘‘(III) cybersecurity and network 

22 security; 

23 ‘‘(IV) national security; and 

24 ‘‘(V) telecommunications. 


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1 ‘‘(D) SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.— 

2 The term ‘senior Government official’ means— 

3 ‘‘(i) the Vice President; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the head of each Executive de5 partment (as defined in section 101 of title 

6 5, United States Code); 

7 ‘‘(iii) each Commissioner of the Com8 mission; 

9 ‘‘(iv) the head of each element of the 

10 intelligence community (as defined in sec11 tion 3 of the National Security Act of 

12 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)); and 

13 ‘‘(v) each member of the Joint Chiefs 

14 of Staff. 

15 ‘‘(j) LIABILITY.—No person shall be held criminally 

16 or civilly liable for any action taken to comply with an 

17 action taken by the President under subsection (a), (b), 

18 (c), or (d), if— 

19 ‘‘(1) the action by the President is taken in ac20 cordance with this section and any other applicable 

21 provision of law; and 

22 ‘‘(2) any service disrupted by the action of such 

23 person is restored as soon as reasonably feasible 

24 after the action by the President ceases to have any 


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1 force or effect in accordance with this section and 

2 any other applicable provision of law.’’. 

3 (b) ONE-TIME GAO REPORT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

6 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub7 mit to Congress a report that predicts the impact of 

8 a communications shutdown, partial or complete, as 

9 provided for in subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) of sec10 tion 706 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

11 U.S.C. 606) or any other law, regulation, Executive 

12 order, or document of the Federal Government, on— 

13 (A) civil liberties and civil rights, including 

14 any disproportionate impacts on marginalized 

15 communities; 

16 (B) national security; 

17 (C) public safety, including emergency 

18 services, emergency support services, and public 

19 safety answering points (as such terms are de20 fined in section 222(h) of the Communications 

21 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222(h))); 

22 (D) functions of Federal, State (as defined 

23 in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 

24 (47 U.S.C. 153)), Tribal, and local govern25 ments; 


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1 (E) the economy, including any projection 

2 of future or ongoing impacts; 

3 (F) communications facilities and the tech4 nical architecture of impacted communications 

5 networks (including the security of such facili6 ties and networks); and 

7 (G) private companies. 

8 (2) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the report 

9 required by paragraph (1), the Comptroller General 

10 shall, to the degree practicable, consult with relevant 

11 stakeholders (as defined in paragraph (8) of sub12 section (i) of section 706 of the Communications Act 

13 of 1934, as added by subsection (a) of this section). 

14 (3) UNCLASSIFIED FORM.—The report required 

15 by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified 

16 form but may contain a classified annex. 

17 (4) COMMUNICATIONS SHUTDOWN DEFINED.— 

18 In this subsection, the term ‘‘communications shut19 down’’ has the meaning given such term in para20 graph (6) of subsection (e) of section 706 of the 

21 Communications Act of 1934, as amended by sub22 section (c). 

23 (c) JUST COMPENSATION AND COSTS TO CUS24 TOMERS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (e) of section 

2 706 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

3 606) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(e)(1) The President shall ascertain— 

5 ‘‘(A) the just compensation for use or control 

6 under subsection (c) or (d); and 

7 ‘‘(B) the cost of any harm to the customers of 

8 a provider of communications by wire or radio 

9 caused by an action by the President under sub10 section (a), (b), (c), or (d) that results in a partial 

11 or complete communications shutdown. 

12 ‘‘(2)(A) The President shall certify the amounts 

13 ascertained under paragraph (1) to Congress for appro14 priation and payment to the person entitled thereto. 

15 ‘‘(B) In the case of the cost of harm to the customers 

16 of a provider, the person entitled to payment under sub17 paragraph (A) shall be such provider. Such provider shall, 

18 not later than 60 days after receiving payment, pay such 

19 amount to the customers who were harmed. 

20 ‘‘(3) If an amount certified under paragraph (2) is 

21 unsatisfactory to the person entitled thereto, such person 

22 shall be paid only 75 percent of the amount and shall be 

23 entitled to sue the United States to recover such further 

24 sums as added to such payment of 75 percent will make 

25 such amount as will be just compensation described in 


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1 paragraph (1)(A) or the cost of any harm described in 

2 paragraph (1)(B), as the case may be. Such suit shall be 

3 brought in the manner provided by section 1346 or section 

4 1491 of title 28, United States Code. 

5 ‘‘(4) The Commission shall promulgate regulations 

6 that contain— 

7 ‘‘(A) a methodology for ascertaining the cost of 

8 harm under paragraph (1)(B); and 

9 ‘‘(B) a methodology that a provider of commu10 nications shall use to determine how much of the 

11 amount required by paragraph (2)(B) to be paid to 

12 customers of such provider who were harmed shall 

13 be paid to each such customer. 

14 ‘‘(5) A provider of communications by wire or radio 

15 may not charge a customer for reactivating, reconnecting, 

16 or taking any similar action with respect to any service 

17 or connection impacted by an action by the President 

18 under subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d). 

19 ‘‘(6) In this subsection, the term ‘communications 

20 shutdown’ means an intentional disruption of internet or 

21 other communications by wire or radio rendering such 

22 communications inaccessible or effectively unusable, for a 

23 specific population or within a specific location (which may 

24 include the entire population of the United States or the 

25 entire territory of the United States).’’. 


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1 (2) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—The Fed2 eral Communications Commission shall promulgate 

3 the regulations required by paragraph (4) of sub4 section (e) of section 706 of the Communications 

5 Act of 1934, as amended by paragraph (1), not later 

6 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act. 

8 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 706 of the 

9 Communications Act of 1934 is further amended— 

10 (1) in the second sentence of subsection (a), by 

11 inserting ‘‘(subject to subsection (i))’’ after ‘‘deter12 mine’’; 

13 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (c), by in14 serting ‘‘(subject to subsection (i))’’ after ‘‘as he 

15 may see fit’’; and 

16 (3) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘and not later 

17 than such earlier date as the Congress by concurrent 

18 resolution may designate’’ and inserting ‘‘(but sub19 ject to subsection (i) with respect to any particular 

20 action under this subsection during such period)’’. 

21 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section and the 

22 amendments made by this section shall not be construed 

23 to expand Presidential authorities existing as of the day 

24 before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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