Dems Want Auction Authority Out of Reconciliation as Allen Reintroduces Spectrum Bill

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2025 – House Democrats said Thursday they opposed including spectrum auction authority in an upcoming budget reconciliation bill. They argued the revenue should be tapped for communications investments instead of offsetting other spending and tax cuts.

“House Republicans are considering using spectrum auction proceeds as a piggy bank to fund their costly tax breaks for billionaires and large, wealthy corporations,” House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said at a hearing on spectrum policy. “The auction of public airwaves should fund programs for the public good.”

The Federal Communications Commission’s ability to auction off airwaves lapsed in March 2023 amid a dispute over a Defense Department band eyed by the 5G industry. Wireless carriers have been left without a way to buy up more spectrum and increase their coverage capacity.

In terms of spending auction proceeds, which can be tens of billions of dollars, multiple Democrats on the Communications Subcommittee suggested using auction proceeds to deploy next-generation 911 systems. Those are based on Internet Protocol and allow for more accurate location identification. Past auctions have funded the construction of FirstNet, the nationwide first responder network, among other public safety efforts, and contributed to deficit reduction.

As it stands, restoring auction authority is among a host of ideas being considered to pay for extensions and expansions of the tax cuts enacted under the first Trump term in 2017. Lawmakers said Thursdayspectrum auction revenue would contribute $70 billion over 10 years toward the government’s bottom line. It would be just one part of an effort to reduce the deficit, to be sure: Just extending the 2017 tax cuts is expected to cost nearly $5 trillion over the same time frame, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has said getting spectrum auction authority in the reconciliation bill is a big priority for him. The reconciliation allows lawmakers to pass budget-related legislation without being filibustered in the Senate, meaning the GOP could push a bill through with its slim majority.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which manages federal spectrum use, is currently studying multiple federal bands for potential repurposing as part of a Biden administration initiative. Those include the lower 3 GHz band—the Defense spectrum at issue—and the 7/8 GHz band, both of which are mid-band spectrum ideal for 5G networks. The reports are due October, 2026.

Reintroduced Spectrum Pipeline Act

Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., announced at the hearing he was reintroducing a spectrum reauthorization bill put forward last year by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-N.D., and Cruz. The bill would restore the FCC’s auction authority for five years, with a mandate to sell off at least 1,250 megahertz for full-powered, licensed use.

AT&T, which like other mobile carriers uses licensed spectrum for its networks, and a 5G trade group were predictably pleased with the news. Although the bill would allow government agencies to buy upgraded equipment with auction proceeds, it’s not as far as Democratic lawmakers have gone. A competing reauthorization bill last year from Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., would have infused a broadband subsidy for low-income households with billions of dollars, plus funded research into spectrum sharing systems.

Sharing proponents, like the cable industry and consumer groups, opposed Cruz's version of the bill at the time, prefering the Cantwell version that didn't call for a certain amount of exclusively licensed airwaves. One such group, Spectrum for the Future, said in a statement that Allen's reintroduced version "catered to the 'big three' cellular giants" and urged Congress to prioritize spectrum sharing.

The FCC will at least be conducting one auction in the near future. In late December the agency was cleared to reauction licenses that Dish had handed back, a one-off move to pay for its Rip and Replace program. The effort repays smaller providers for swapping gear from blacklisted Chinese companies out of their networks.