WASHINGTON-Literally minutes before the Senate left town for the year, it passed a troika of important wireless bills-spectrum relocation, enhanced 911 grants and universal service.
The package now goes to President George W. Bush for his signature.
The three bills had been tied together in hopes that all could overcome various obstacles.
The House of Representatives passed the bills before Thanksgiving, but they were held up on the Senate side.
As the night wore on Wednesday, it was unclear whether any of the three bills would pass, although key lawmakers had assured telecommunications policy-makers that the universal-service bill would be separated. Finally, a deal was struck that allowed the three bills to be passed, and the Senate said, “Good night and goodbye.”
Thursday morning saw everyone cheering the passage of their favorite bills.
The creation of a spectrum-relocation trust fund was the major effort (and win) of the wireless industry. The trust fund will “substantially reduce the uncertainty facing potential bidders as they would not be held hostage by existing users-in this case the military-who may try to hold the migration process hostage to greenmail threats,” said George Reed-Dellinger, telecommunications analyst with Washington Analysis.
Legislation to create an E911 grant program and an executive-level coordination office gained speed two years ago when four teenagers died off the coast of Manhattan when they dialed 911 from a cell phone, but their locations couldn’t be determined by the local public safety answering point. But the bill had been slowed recently by fiscal concerns.
“We have fought long and hard on the principle that the same 911 service should be available to every citizen, any time, anywhere,” said Bill McMurray of Marin County, Calif., president of the National Emergency Number Association. “The leadership of the Congressional E911 Caucus made all the difference. Like true first responders, they (the caucus) never gave up.”
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), chairman of the Senate communications subcommittee, said he had “insisted” the Senate stay in session until it passed a bill allowing for universal-service subsidies to be released. Earlier this year, funds for schools and libraries, known as the E-rate, were suspended due to an accounting change.
“This is not a small issue-many people have been negatively impacted, and it’s a huge win that we were able to get this through before the Senate recessed,” said Burns.
