NG911 funding not part of Republican bill to support FCC auction authority, ‘rip and replace’ effort

A Republican senator this week introduced a bill calling for a mid-band spectrum auction with proceeds being used to fund the FCC’s “rip and replace” program, but—unlike legislation passed by the House—the current language would not provide any funding for next-generation 911 (NG911) deployments.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced S.4820—entitled the “Protecting Communications Networks from Chinese Communist Party Espionage Act.”—that includes some key aspects of the “Spectrum Innovation Act” that overwhelmingly passed the House in July.

Similarities include an extension of the FCC’s authority to conduct spectrum auction and a requirement for the FCC to auction airwaves in the 3.1-3.45 GHz band. In addition, Lee’s proposal calls for auction proceeds to be used first to cover incumbent relocation costs, with the next $3.7 billion being used to fully fund the FCC’s “rip and replace” program to rid U.S. networks of telecom gear from China-based firms like Huawei and ZTE.

But Lee’s legislation also includes significant differences from the House-approved H.R. 7624. After paying for incumbent relocation and the “rip and replace” initiative, House bill would use the next $10 billion from the FCC auction would be used to fund the transition of 911 centers nationwide to IP-based NG911 technology. In contrast, S.4820 does not include any language that even mentions NG911 funding.

One concern about the House bill that was raised by the Public Safety Next Generation 911 Coalition—a coalition of public-safety associations—was that NG911 would not be available for years, so the coalition requested that NG911 funds could be borrowed immediately from the U.S. Treasury, which would be repaid when the proceeds from the 3.1-3.45 GHz spectrum auction are available.

Lee’s proposal embraces this borrowing concept, but his legislation uses it for the FCC’s “rip and replace” funding, not NG911 deployments.

Currently, S.4820 is sponsored by Lee and co-sponsored by Sen. Martha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Given that Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate, it is questionable whether a Republican-only proposal could pass the Senate.

Meanwhile, senators could be trying to process the various requests for NG911 funding made in letters from the Public Safety Next Generation 911 Coalition, the National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA), and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).

Any NG911 funding legislation could face timeline pressures. The Senate is scheduled to remain in session throughout September before halting legislative work for much of October, allowing for many to campaign for the upcoming November elections.

If it wants to pass the Spectrum Innovation Act before the FCC auction authority expires on Sept. 30, the Senate has 14 business days remaining under the current schedule to move the legislation through the committee process, conduct a floor vote and—if necessary—complete any conference-committee work. If there is a desire to have President Joe Biden sign the bill into law by Sept. 30, that timetable would need to be accelerated.

However, there may not be an urgent need to extend the FCC auction authority by the Sept. 30 expiration date, given that the 2.5 GHz auction has been completed, and there are no near-term plans for other spectrum auctions.

If the Sept. 30 date is not significant to lawmakers, the Senate has nine business days scheduled in October before the mid-term elections. After the election, the Senate is slated to work for 23 days before the session ends.

Any legislation that does not pass by the end of the session would have to be reintroduced in the next Congress for consideration.