International Trade Today is a service of Warren Communications News.

Commerce Committee Narrows VoIP Preemption Language in Telecom Bill

The Senate Commerce Committee narrowed the preemptions in its sweeping telecom reform bill, at least in regard to state control of VoIP, as it began debate of the legislation Thurs. The committee agreed to amendments by Sen. Sununu (R- N.H.) that clarify that Congress is limiting only economic regulation of VoIP by the states, and won’t in any way prohibit the ability of the states to protect consumers, including on privacy and by passing anti-child pornography laws. The committee is expected to continue the markup Tues., in a session likely to extend into Wed.

Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article

If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.

Sources said additional debate is likely on wireless preemption language contained in last Fri.’s version of the telecom legislation circulated by Stevens, which has proven controversial and has been opposed by state and consumer groups (CD June 21 p1). Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) told reporters after the markup he expects the committee to have to address “about 100” amendments before the bill is ready for the floor: “We just got rid of about 17, I don’t know whether you noticed that.”

Sen. Dorgan (D-N.D.) complained that the preemption provisions for VoIP, even with the Sununu amendments, go significantly beyond previous decisions by the FCC asserting its authority relative to the states. “It’s fairly broad based,” he said: “Do we have any idea what we're preempting?… I want to understand the consequences of what exactly we are preempting. What are we preserving?”

Stevens said the VoIP provisions would do little more than solidify the status quo, giving the FCC Congressional support for a series of regulatory calls. “We do what the FCC did… simply preempt state economic regulation.” Sununu, who asked for the VoIP language in the draft, said “the amendments are as clear as I can make them.”

Sen. Nelson (D-Fla.) said he wished the legislation would have restricted its attention to video franchise and a few other issues originally targeted by lawmakers. “I have serious reservations about how broad this bill has become,” he said: “It looks much more like a sweeping telecom reform bill than what we started with.” Nelson said he was concerned that the legislation “would sweep aside decades of consumer protection law in a blink of an eye. “Maybe we need preemption in some circumstances but when these provisions suddenly appear out of the blue in the 3rd draft of this bill, then it heightens my concerns,” Nelson said.

Sen. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said in an opening statement he was troubled in general by the preemption language, which was added in last week’s draft. “The bill preempts state regulation of the wireless phone industry,” he said: “I know that many West Virginians believe that they cannot adequately resolve complaints with their wireless carriers -- in most cases for cellphone service. I know state officials are almost always better prepared to assist consumers in working through billing and contract disputes, and we should preserve the current role of states in consumer protection.” Rockefeller said he was surprised language preempting state regulation of VoIP was even included in the legislation: “I do not understand this action because the committee has already rejected this idea based in large part on the fact that first responders raised very serious concerns.”

Stevens confirmed that Sen. DeMint (R-S.C.) was the sponsor of the wireless preemption language in the legislation, which is supported by CTIA.

In other early deliberations, the committee:

-- Approved an amendment under which $500 million of the $1 billion to be made available for interoperable communications from the sale of 700 MHz spectrum after the DTV transition will be immediately available. “This funding is desperately needed,” Sen. Vitter (R-La.) said: “We all know that we have made little progress on interoperability since 9/11.”

-- Agreed to a Nelson amendment that would allow some of these funds to go to PSAPs. But Stevens had concerns about the amendment that the 2 agreed to work out as the legislation moves to the floor. Sen. Cantwell (D-Wash.) withdrew an amendment that would have allowed some of the money to be used to help public safety officials prepare for cross-border communications issues during 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Stevens said money must not come out of the $1 billion for interoperable communications. “Demand was much than $1 billion for first responders in the first instance,” Stevens said.

-- Sens. McCain (R-Ariz), Sununu and others withdrew at least temporarily an amendment that would place a $6.52 billion cap, to be adjusted every year based on inflation, on the universal service fund.