House Circulates Draft Bills in Advance of 

April 30 Hearing on FCC Reauthorization

On April 30 at 2 p.m. the House Energy & Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing on "FCC Reauthorization: Improving Commission Transparency," which will feature testimony from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly.
 

In advance of the hearing, three draft bills aimed at increasing transparency at the FCC were released: 

• Communications and Technology Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta (R-OH) offered a bill that would require the FCC to publish a list of items that are placed on delegated authority - that is, decided at the bureau level in lieu of a commission vote.
• Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) offered a bill that would require the FCC to publish the draft of a rulemaking, order, report or any other action when it is circulated to the commissioners for a vote. The bill does not prevent the FCC from making changes to the item after it has been circulated, but it allows the public to see what the Chairman is proposing to the rest of the Commission.
• Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) offered a bill that would require the FCC to publish new rules on the same day that they are adopted.

House Passes Cyber Threat Legislation

Last week, the House of Representatives passed cyber threat information sharing legislation to allow two-way sharing between private sector and entities within the federal government.  The legislation includes:

• H.R. 1560, the Protecting Cyber Networks Act - This bill allows private companies to voluntarily share and receive cyber threat information within the private sector and authorizes the federal government to share cyber threat indicators with the private sector that could prevent or mitigate an attack. The legislation does not authorize sharing with National Security Agency or Department of Defense and does not authorize surveillance, and provides liability protections for companies that share cyber threat information with the federal government or throughout the private sector.
• H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement (NCPA) Act of 2015 - This bill amends the Homeland Security Act to provide liability protections for private companies sharing cyber threat information within the private sector and with the Department of Homeland Security's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) and only addresses voluntary sharing between DHS's NCCIC and the private sector. The bill does not allow use of cyber information for surveillance or law enforcement. 

The House plans to combine the two bills before sending to the Senate for consideration.

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