Senators warming to spectrum deal in GOP megabill

Key Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee say there’s been headway in recent weeks on reaching an agreement to auction off wireless spectrum, expressing renewed hopes for attaching a telecom deal to the party’s massive bill to enact swaths of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda.

“There’s progress, we’re almost there,” Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said in an interview Tuesday. “We’re at a place where almost everyone is comfortable.”

Reauthorizing the lapsed spectrum auction authority of the Federal Communications Commission and facilitating the direct the sale of airwaves to the private sector could net tens of billions of dollars in revenue — an attractive offset for the party-line legislative package.

The plan has run into obstacles, however, with allies of the Pentagon worrying about protecting the military’s vast store of spectrum, which the Pentagon uses for technology like radar.

Wicker has been negotiating with Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas), whose panel also has jurisdiction over the issue. Cruz has emerged as perhaps the party’s most aggressive proponent for freeing up spectrum for the wireless industry, and talked directly about the issue with Trump. He has suggested that spectrum provisions could raise as much as $100 billion in revenue, although the exact amount may shift depending on the nature of any deal.

Asked about recent talks, Cruz said in an interview Tuesday, “we continue to have very positive conversations.”

Other staunch Pentagon allies also seem more open to the possibility of including a spectrum deal in the GOP megabill.

“There’s a possibility,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a senior Armed Services member, said in an interview. “I think we’re moving in the right direction to protect significant areas that I’ve always been concerned about. Nevertheless, I think we may have some opportunities for that agreement. But it’s got a ways to go.”

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), who has long shared Rounds’ concerns, also signaled new headway. She sits on Armed Services and chairs Senate Commerce’s telecom subcommittee.

“I’m not going to make any comment until things are finalized, but yeah, I’m hopeful that the needs we have for national security are going to be recognized, understood and met when we have any kind of discussions on spectrum,” she said Tuesday, declining to elaborate on recent negotiations.