Radio Spectrum Inventory Act
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support passage of H.R. 3125, The Radio
Spectrum Inventory Act. I'm proud to be an initial cosponsor of this legislation, and I look forward to seeing it enacted into law. Thank you, Chairman Waxman for your leadership on this bill, and I appreciate the important bipartisan work of the Ranking Minority Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Joe Barton.
We pass this bill at an opportune moment. This past month, the Federal Communications Commission released its National Broadband Plan. The FCC pointed out what many of us already have known for a long time--broadband rollout requires an increasing amount of spectrum.
We're already seeing competing industries squabble over spectrum, and we are in danger of having an all-out range war between the wireless industry and broadcasters. We can head it all off at the pass by doing the obvious--review our resources first, and reallocate second.
That doesn't mean I want the FCC to stand still while we review the spectrum chart. There is plenty of spectrum already available, like the Advanced Wireless Spectrum, that should go for useful purposes like a free national wireless broadband lifeline. So the FCC must keep moving and deploy what they can as expeditiously as possible.
We've also had to make some compromises on this bill to comply with essential national security issues. As a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, I recognize the essential need to document spectrum use and prevent channel hoarding, and as the Chair of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence's Subcommittee on Intelligence Community Management, my views are likewise shaped by the need to safeguard channels that our intelligence, security and military agencies may need in the future. Our very lives may depend upon it.
I believe this bill finds that happy medium. It will spur economic growth and innovation while keeping America safe. The FCC and NTIA can review our spectrum assets in a judicial manner and develop informational resources that will guide us as we implement the National Broadband Plan.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source