https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Policy


D Block in limbo as House expected to nix two-month payroll-tax deal (with related video)

D Block in limbo as House expected to nix two-month payroll-tax deal (with related video)

It is unclear whether public-safety-communications aspects of the spectrum language in last week’s House bill would be included in any bicameral negotiations, if they occur.
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 19th December 2011

Hopes that 700 MHz D Block reallocation to public safety would be part of larger payroll-tax legislation appeared to be dashed during the weekend when the Senate opted to pass a two-month bill, but the issue theoretically could be reopened if the House rejects that proposal and seeks to renegotiate a year-long measure, as many Beltway observers expect.

D Block reallocation and billions of dollars in funding for a nationwide public-safety broadband network were key components for first responders that were part of the payroll-tax bill passed by the House last week, although that legislation included spectrum-giveback and governance language that was troublesome to many first-responder groups.

Instead of approving the House bill, the Senate voted Saturday for a compromise measure that would extend the payroll-tax cut and unemployment benefits for just two months. This legislation did not include any provisions related to spectrum, including language regarding public safety and the FCC’s authority to conduct auction airwaves.

“I’m deeply disappointed that measures to create a first-responder communications network were not included in the larger year-end package,” Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said in a news release Saturday

“Our police officers, firefighters, and emergency personnel across America need to be able to rely on a nationwide, interoperable communications network when the unimaginable happens. Although we didn’t get this done within today’s agreement, I intend to push hard in the coming weeks to work out a suitable compromise with the House.”

This bipartisan legislation passed the Senate by an 89-10 margin and initially was expected to pass the House today. But House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said yesterday on NBC’s Meet the Press that House Republicans have expressed opposition to the proposal and want Congress to negotiate a deal that includes a full-year extension of payroll-tax cut. Boehner said the two-month deal is an example of “just kicking the can down the road.”

“It’s time to just stop, do our work, resolve the differences and extend this for one year,” Boehner said. “How can you have tax policy for two months?”

Complicating matters is the fact that the Senate already has adjourned for the year and was not expected to reconvene until the eve of President Barak Obama’s State of the Union address to Congress on Jan. 24. However, if the House does not pass the Senate’s weekend legislative effort and senators decline to negotiate a new deal, about 160 million American will see their taxes increase and others see unemployment benefits expire beginning in January — a scenario that both parties hope to avoid, particularly as a national election cycle gets started.

If the House members today opt against supporting the two-month extension passed by the Senate, it is unclear whether public-safety-communications aspects of the spectrum language in last week’s House bill would be included in any bicameral negotiations, if they occur.

While public safety supports many key tenets of last week’s House bill — D Block reallocation, broadband funding and next-generation 911 funding — many first-responder agencies oppose language requiring the return of 700 MHz narrowband spectrum to the FCC in the future and an administrator-based governance model that is similar to the one used for 800 MHz rebanding.

Meanwhile, the political lightning rod associated with the payroll-tax debate has been the multibillion-dollar Keystone XL oil pipeline. Republicans claim the project would create 20,000 jobs, while Democrats have expressed environmental concerns about the proposed pipeline from Canada to Texas.

Under last week’s House bill, President Barack Obama would have to make a decision about the pipeline within two months. Many Democratic officials have indicated that this accelerated timetable would force Obama to nix the project, because the environmental studies would not be completed in time.
Multiple media reports indicate that House Republicans are seeking language in the payroll-tax bill that would ensure approval of the controversial pipeline project.

Tags: content Policy

Most Recent


  • Cyberattack closes emergency rooms in three states
    Ardent Health says it was the target of a cyberattack over Thanksgiving, in an incident that shut down the hospital operator’s emergency rooms in three states. The hospital operator, which oversees 30 hospitals in the U.S., said the attack was detected on the morning of Nov. 23 and was identified as a ransomware attack impacting […]
  • Report: Local cybersecurity programs are facing headwinds as threats, technologies evolve
    The evolving technological landscape isn’t just changing the nation’s social and economic norms, it’s also pushing local governments to adapt. A new analysis from the Public Technology Institute provides a snapshot of the challenges local cybersecurity programs are facing, and the priorities of city and county administrators as they guide organizations through an unprecedented era […]
  • NG911 supporter Eshoo announces she will not seek reelection to Congress in 2024
    Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), a longtime supporter of federal funding to help public-safety answering points (PSAPs) transition to next-generation 911 (NG911) technology, last week announced that she will not seek reelection to Congress in 2024 but plans to serve out her current term through January 2025. Eshoo, 80, was elected to Congress for the first […]
  • GSMA calls for EU 'fair share' and mergers support amid traffic growth
    The GSMA has backed ‘fair share’ demands for Big Tech to contribute to network costs and called for more European Union leniency on telco mergers in the latest version of its annual European Mobile Economy Report, which forecasts continued growth in data traffic with 5G adoption. The report from the non-profit group forecasts that mobile data […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • D Block in limbo as House expected to nix two-month payroll-tax deal (with related video)
    Newscan: Feds recover millions from pipeline ransom hackers, hint at U.S. Internet tactic
  • Cyber is the new Cold War, and AI is the arms race
  • Private wireless networks in the US start going public
  • Microsoft patches 6 zero-day vulnerabilities under active attack

Commentary


Land mobile radio (LMR) systems are just as vulnerable to cyberattacks as any other networks used in the public-safety sector. Here’s what to do about it.

  • 1
7th November 2023

September 3GPP Plenary meetings feature Release 18 progress, Release 19 beginnings

13th October 2023

Better technology can help solve the public-safety staffing crisis

26th June 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.