It was still unclear Mon. whether the Senate Commerce- Justice-St...

It was still unclear Mon. whether the Senate Commerce- Justice-State appropriations bill (S-1585) would move to the Senate floor as a standalone measure or as part of an omnibus appropriations bill, sources said. The Senate still has several appropriations bills to consider, including Agriculture, District of Columbia and VA-HUD, and is running out of time to consider all the measures. Senate Majority Leader Frist (R-Tenn.) reportedly is aiming for Nov. 21 adjournment, leaving few legislative days to consider all the remaining appropriations bills. A spokeswoman for Senate Appropriations Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) said he still was trying to move all of them to the floor. A spokeswoman for Frist said he still was in discussion with Stevens and could finish negotiations on the Senate’s remaining schedule by Mon. evening. The CJS legislation includes language that would prevent the FCC from raising the broadcast ownership cap to 45% from 35% as was part of the its controversial media ownership rules change in June. The same provision is in the House CJS bill that has passed already. The bill also includes a controversial amendment that would allow Multichannel Video Distribution & Data Services (MVDDS) to receive a portion of spectrum without going through the FCC auction process. Senators who object say the amendment would favor Northpoint Technology. The CJS bill also would strip funding of the Commerce Dept.’s Technology Administration.