WASHINGTON, DC - The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), today announced a markup for Wednesday, June 13, 2018, at 10 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
#SubCommTech will consider the following bills:
H.R. 2345, the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2017, authored by Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT) and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), will direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in consultation with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to study and report on the feasibility of designating an N11 dialing code to be used for a national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system.
H.R. 5709, Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (PIRATE) Act, authored by #SubCommTech Vice Chairman Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), will increase fines for illegal pirate operations from $10,000 per violation to $100,000 per day per violation, up to a maximum of $2,000,000, and streamline the FCC’s enforcement process and empower state and local law enforcement in combating illegal pirate operations.
H.R. 3994, the Advancing Critical Connectivity Expands Service, Small Business Resources, Opportunities, Access, and Data Based on Assessed Need and Demand (ACCESS BROADBAND) Act, authored by Rep. Tonko and Rep. Lance, will establish an Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to coordinate and track federal funding for broadband across all agencies. This is an important step in the NTIA reauthorization process the subcommittee began last year and continued with the recent #SubCommTech oversight hearing.
H.R. 4881, Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018, authored by #SubDCCP Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH) and Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA), will require the FCC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to form a task force to evaluate the best ways to meet the broadband needs of precision agriculture.
“Continuing this subcommittee’s tradition of working across the aisle to get things done, our upcoming markup will be a strong step in improving the country’s telecommunications system. Collectively, the bills we’re considering could make a real impact on Americans’ lives and the ways we communicate and work. I’m proud of the bipartisan efforts demonstrated by these bills and look forward to advancing them this week," said Chairman Blackburn.
A background memo, electronic copies of the legislation, and live stream of the markup can be found online HERE. Amendment text and votes will be available at the same link as they are posted.
