House and Senate Judiciary committees late last week approved digital wiretap legislation, improving chances for passing a bill before the 103rd Congress adjourns for the year.
Meanwhile, House Budget Committee members blasted the Clinton administration’s new formula for determining how much three pioneer preference winners must pay for the broadband personal communications services license each receives from the Federal Communications Commission (See story on Page 11).
The panel said FCC members who were involved in past pioneer’s preference rulings may be called to testify at a future hearing.
The White House’s pioneer preference plan, which is buried at the bottom of massive legislation implementing the new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, is less harsh than the payment plan approved in August by the FCC. The administration’s proposal would shield pioneer awards from being overturned by the agency or in court.
At a hearing last week, lawmakers said pioneer provisions in the GATT bill would shortchange the U.S. treasury millions of dollars.
FCC Commissioner Susan Ness said she was not involved in negotiations leading up to the newly proposed payment scheme for PCS pioneer preference recipients, and declined to comment on whether that plan represents good public policy.
Chairman Reed Hundt sat silent during much of the questioning, saying that because his former law firm represents a party in the broadband PCS pioneer preference proceeding at the FCC, he is recused from the matter.
Delaying tactics by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., could effectively kill GATT legislation this year. President Clinton has threatened to call lawmakers back to Capitol Hill after mid-term elections next month in hopes of getting the trade pact approved before the close of Congress.
House Budget Committee Chairman Martin Sabo, D-Minn., said written questions will be sent to the FCC regarding agency decisions to freeze the filing of 800 MHz specialized mobile radio applications and to use a lottery instead of an auction to license unserved cellular areas.
