Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives to advance the country's national spectrum policy amidst the 29th anniversary of the Federal Communications Commission's first spectrum auction that commenced on July 25, 1994.

Bill: 118-hres-631
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33]
Introduced: 2023-07-27
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Congressional tributes

House of Representatives

Radio spectrum allocation
Latest action: action_date: 2023-07-28
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-07-27
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This resolution recognizes the 29th anniversary of the first auction of the electromagnetic spectrum held by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and supports the FCC's authority to use competitive bidding for granting licenses to use spectrum for commercial wireless communications.</p>

tv_txt: IV 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 631 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 27, 2023 Mr. Veasey submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives to advance the country’s national spectrum policy amidst the 29th anniversary of the Federal Communications Commission’s first spectrum auction that commenced on July 25, 1994.

Whereas the Federal Communications Commission was provided auction authority to allocate spectrum licenses for commercial wireless communications in 1993 and held its first auction on July 25, 1994; Whereas the Commission’s spectrum auctions serve the public interest, promote deployment of new technology and services to rural regions, and achieve the most efficient use of spectrum; Whereas spectrum auction revenues have raised $233,000,000,000 for the Department of the Treasury since 1993; Whereas spectral efficiency is essential to meet the increasing demands of wireless subscribers and deployment of new technologies and tools; Whereas the United States is facing a significant challenge in spectrum management during a period when foreign adversaries of the United States continue to proactively allocate spectrum and deploy advanced wireless networks and devices around the world; and Whereas failure to rectify the spectrum hampers United States leadership at home and abroad in the development and deployment of future wireless technologies: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) recognizes the 29th anniversary of the Federal Communications Commission’s first spectrum auction; (2) supports the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to use competitive bidding to grant licenses for rights to use frequencies for commercial wireless communications; (3) expresses hope that Congress swiftly reauthorizes the Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auction authority; (4) recognizes that each auction of spectrum must carefully consider the implications on adjacent spectrum bands, especially those used for defense and national security purposes; and (5) acknowledges that successful spectrum auctions can fuel rapid innovation, unlock considerable economic benefits across the country, and ensure United States leadership at the cutting edge of technology and innovation.