Spectrum is critical to licensed and unlicensed communications; however, it is also a limited resource. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act requires the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) to locate 800 MHz of spectrum for auction and provided the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with spectrum auction authority until September 30, 2034. While this may seem […]
The anniversary of September 11, 2001, is always difficult for the millions of Americans who lived in New York and Washington, D.C. and saw the terrorist attacks firsthand, and everyone else who watched the attacks and heard about the crash of the fourth plane in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Thousands of first responders were involved in the […]
Citizens Against Government Waste’s (CAGW) comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the “Delete, Delete, Delete” proceeding included the repeal of a regulation that expanded the use of the E-Rate program under the Universal Service Fund (USF) to allows tax dollars to be used for the installation of Wi-Fi hotspots in school buses. The […]
According to the website for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the mission of the agency “is to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans — whether they are applying for a mortgage, choosing among credit cards, or using any number of other consumer financial products.” The agency came into existence […]
The first rule of communications is getting the message right. A March 11, 2014 op-ed by former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt appearing in the Los Angeles Times provided a unique glimpse into how messaging used by politicians can shift over time. The editorial detailed the push in the 1990s by former Alaska Senators […]
As members of Congress reconvene following their long summer break, one of their most immediate tasks will be to pass legislation to fund the federal government beyond the current fiscal year, which ends at the end of the month. One issue that is likely to crop up (yet) again is funding for the Medium Extended […]
Rep. Frank D. Lucas (R-Okla.), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, has proposed a strategy to move the chamber’s recently failed 2013 Farm Bill forward to passage by the House and on to conference with the Senate’s already passed version. Stung by the unprecedented defeat of a recurring piece of legislation once considered “must pass” […]
The Senate overwhelmingly approved its version of the Farm Bill on June 10, 2012 with a vote of 66-27. There is plenty to say about what is in the $955 billion legislation—with more than $760 billion for going to food stamps and nutrition programs, and billions more going to various other programs, it seems that […]
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is under heavy scrutiny after a report by the Inspector General (IG) at the Treasury Department. Recent videos have surfaced showing IRS employees practicing the popular dance, “the cupid shuffle” and parodying Star Trek. Costing more than $50,000, these videos add visual representations of the service’s recent misuse of tax […]
The summer appropriations process for the Department of Defense (DOD), beginning with the initial authorizing bills, has thus far brought a mixed bag of news. On the positive side, the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) directs the Pentagon to look for commercial products capable of performing functions currently under the purview […]
