Pallone Applauds Committee Passage of Five Health and Telecommunication Bills
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) released the following statement today following passage of five bipartisan bills during a full Committee markup.
"Today, the Energy and Commerce Committee passed five bipartisan bills that taken together will strengthen our nation's communication networks and improve access to health care. The four telecommunication bills leverage our networks to help keep people safe, bolster service affordability programs, and improve the federal use and auction of our nation's airwaves. The health bill will ensure access to medically necessary care for Medicare patients with Lymphedema. I thank members for their hard work on these bills and look forward to continuing to work together to bring them to the House floor."
The Committee favorably reported the following bills:
H.R. 7624, the "Spectrum Innovation Act of 2022," was introduced by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) and 20 original bipartisan cosponsors. The legislation would make available additional frequencies in the 3.1–3.45 gigahertz band for non-federal use, shared federal and non-federal use, or a combination thereof. The legislation also funds the Secure and Trusted Reimbursement Program and a newly authorized Next Generation 9-1-1 grant program from the proceeds of the auction required under the legislation. An amendment in the nature of a substitute (AINS) was offered that incorporated H.R. 7783, the Extending American's Spectrum Action Leadership Act of 2022," which was introduced by Reps. Sharice Davids (D-KS), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Bill Johnson (R-OH), that would extend the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) general auction authority for an additional 18 months, to March 31, 2024. The AINS also incorporates H.R. 5486, the "SMART Act," which was introduced by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY). The bill was passed, as amended, by a vote of 52-0.
H.R. 4275, the "Ensuring Phone and Internet Access Through Lifeline and Affordable Connectivity Program Act of 2022," was introduced by Reps. Elaine Luria (D-VA) and John Katko (R-NY). The legislation requires the FCC to annually submit a report to Congress regarding the number of households that qualify for Lifeline and the Affordable Connectivity Program through automatic qualifying programs set forth in statute and regulations. The bill was passed, as amended, by a vote of 48-0.
H.R. 4990, the "Institute for Telecommunication Sciences Codification Act" or the "ITS Codification Act," was introduced by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA). The legislation amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Organization Act by providing statutory authority for the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences. It also requires the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information to establish an initiative at NTIA to develop emergency communication technologies for use in locating individuals trapped in areas where mobile connectivity may not be available. The bill was passed, as amended, by a vote of 51-0.
H.R. 7132, the "Safe Connections Act of 2022," was introduced by Reps. Annie Kuster (D-NH) and Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA). The legislation amends the Communications Act by requiring mobile service providers, after receiving a line separation request from a survivor of domestic violence, human trafficking, or other related crimes for a mobile service contract shared with an abuser, to separate the line of the survivor (and the line of any individual in the care of the survivor) from the shared mobile service contract or separate the line of the abuser from the shared mobile service contract when technically feasible. The legislation also directs the FCC to issue rules, within 18 months of the Act's enactment, implementing line separation requests from survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and other related crimes and to establish emergency communications support for these survivors. The bill was passed, as amended, by a vote of 53-0.
H.R. 3630, the "Lymphedema Treatment Act," was introduced by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and 147 original bipartisan cosponsors. The legislation provides for Medicare coverage of Lymphedema compression treatment items such as compression garments. The bill was passed, as amended, by voice vote.
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