PENTAGON CONCERNED ABOUT TIMETABLES IN SPECTRUM RELOCATION BILL

Pentagon officials told the House Telecom Subcommittee that they had some concerns about the spectrum relocation trust fund legislation introduced by Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.). However, they stressed that their issues were specific and technical and that overall they supported the goal of the bill -- to make more commercial spectrum available more quickly. Stephen Price, deputy asst. secy. of defense for spectrum, said the timetables in Upton’s Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act (HR-1320) would be very difficult for DoD to meet. NTIA Dir. Nancy Victory said DoD, the Administration and Upton would work to resolve differences between Upton’s plan and one by the Administration.

Price told Upton the DoD would need more time to evaluate spectrum relocation than provided for in HR-1320. Under the Upton bill, the Pentagon would have 3 months to determine how much it would cost to relocate. Price said it usually took at least a year to determine relocation costs and 18 months would be a better target. He also said spectrum relocations could take several years and cost estimates could be remarkably different once they're completed. The 10-year time span for the trust fund proposed by the Administration, would better address that issue, he said. Upton said his bill would maintain the fund until the relocation was complete, but Price said there were different evaluations of when such a project actually was finished.

Upton said the bill would move on a fast track and said the subcommittee was likely schedule a markup in 2 weeks. In the meantime, he said staff would meet with the Administration to iron out specific concerns. Victory said she was pleased the subcommittee was addressing the issue so quickly in the 108th Congress. Steven Berry, CTIA senior vp- govt. affairs, said his association also strongly supported the bill, saying it would be a “win-win-win” for the economy, consumers and security.

Democratic members of the Subcommittee also expressed concerns about the Upton bill. “The legislation appears to lack specific accountability and congressional oversight over how proceeds deposited in the trust fund will be expended,” Commerce Committee ranking Democrat Dingell (Mich.) said. He said Upton’s bill was “a fine starting point,” but expressed concern that Congress got a “brief” 30-day notice after the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) and the NTIA evaluated the appropriations from the fund. Dingell said his experience with the DoD led him to believe more oversight was necessary because past investigations had shown “many examples of wasteful spending by agencies, and particularly the Department of Defense.”

In written testimony, Commerce Committee Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.) said Upton’s bill was “not a gravy train from which members can siphon off money for one pet project or another.” He said the funds were separated from the general fund and only leftover funds should go back into the Treasury. He said the bill included “responsible, commonsense mechanisms to ensure that the funds are spent in a rational, timely manner.” He said Congress wasn’t overstepping its boundaries and OMB or NTIA weren’t given too much control over how it would be spent.

Telecom Subcommittee ranking Democrat Markey (Mass.) spoke in favor of a bill he introduced recently that would create a “spectrum commons.” The bill included trust fund provisions that included a $5 billion cap on the fund and a separate fund for technology training for schools. Larry Grossman, co-chmn. of the Digital Promise Project, said adding a public interest trust fund to the Upton bill would be good for defense by creating public investment in technology that would reap dividends in the coming years: “The trust will serve as a kind of venture capital fund for educational institutions, enabling them to become true participants in the digital age. The strength of our democracy and our economic competitiveness depends on it.”

Both Price and Victory said they had concerns about Markey’s proposal. Price said the DoD wouldn’t support a cap on the fund. Commerce Dept. Gen. Counsel Theodore Kassinger sent the Administration’s own spectrum relocation fund to leaders of the House and Senate and the Commerce Committees March 19. The bill would create a $2.5 billion fund for relocation for fiscal years 2005-2010.