Communicators congo a discussion of the communicators, a discussion of telecom in washington this fall. Joining us are three working reporters covering this issues, covering congress, sec, our other agencies. John hendel is with politico. Lydia beyoud is with event driven. And Tara Jeffries is with bloomberg bna. Before we get into these issues, i want to ask you all an opening question to see where we go. The influence today of some of the larger Tech Companies, and here in washington. Is it growing, is it outsized . Lydia thats a great question. We are seeing a pivot. In the trunk administration, away from wellrecognized influence by Tech Companies like google and facebook, towards skepticism. Influence under the Previous Administration is under a different light here. Tara i would agree. I think the trunk administration has not shown the same focus on tech groups and companies that the Obama Administration did. Thankfully, we are seeing conversations in congress about it as well, given this nod monopolytitrust and issues from the democrats on their better deal agenda. I think we are seeing more of that in congress as well, not just the white house. They seem to be having to play defense that more. Twitter and facebook in terms of the russia investigation, other pieces of legislation like senator rob portmans trafficking act. The administration sees this as dangerous to their business and raising litigation terms. Is a bill that would go after Tech Companies that host ads that facilitate sex trafficking. Its a type of bill that has attracted bicameral and bipartisan support. People say it is a great piece of legislation, and shaming google publicly in a huge way. Interesting to see bills like that come to the floor, creating new pressure where the Tech Industry might actually have to testify and talk about this, on top of other issues like Net Neutrality where they are playing defense with house republicans. It is still happening with a backdrop of tech wanting bigticket priorities to go through congress, like tax reform. The other one of interesting points to make about this change and influence is that a lot of the telecom companies, especially the isps that fell under the gun with the s netus Administration Neutrality rules, i wouldnt say gleeful, but some of the tech scrutiny,s are under and theyre happy about it, from the public. They are looking at some of helping them as get some of their positions further than congress. Peter conversely, does that mean there has been an increase in lobbying efforts by the amazons and googles of the world . Have we seen that . The status quo is kind of advantageous, at least when it comes to Net Neutrality for the Tech Companies as opposed to the isps. I think that is partly why the isps kind of want more momentum congress to take the we wheel on Net Neutrality legislation. You dont necessarily see as much of that coming from the tech side. Are we goingre with Net Neutrality, with congress and the fcc . That is the big question. I think the sec got there proposed rulemaking out, and ,hat should be the final stage it is upcoming. I think it is in the fccs court now rather than congress, but we did see that september hearing get postponed i believe theitely on the house greg walden hearing. There is a lot of reluctance from Tech Companies to have their ceos under the microscope , like iill, especially said, given that the status quo is somewhat in their favor at the moment. John it seems like a really interesting gamble for the committee chairman, greg walden. Before, he said we will have a big hearing and legislation, and it led to a lot of meetings, but ultimately no real draft. He was looking for some Tech Industry support for some kind of bill as a way to backhand his way into pressuring the democrats to negotiate on legislation. And think to the sec they can win a grassroots fight. It has been more than 22 million comments to the sec at this point, which is extraordinary given how many times more that n the secwhat whe was actually putting together the order. More than 22 million now. Everyone seems to be watching the fcc chairman ajit pai. He seems to be facing more pressure, given that the cut senate has to hold a big local vote, which is unheard of for an fcc nominee. Normally, they just pass by unanimous consent in a bigger package, but that was really interesting before the august recess. Democrats played hardball and they said they would not include him in a batch of nominees. Senate leaders are trying to figure out when they can actually schedule a public floor vote for the chairman. Its going to be one of those things where democrats have a chance to talk about all the issues that bothered them. If hes not confirmed by the end of the year, he has to leave the commission, too. The votes heas needs, but it will be a very messy, public process. Is the fcc going to follow their agenda and act on Net Neutrality . They expect them to act by the december meeting. Peter how is that going to work . Trying to are schedule a vote before the columbus day restates recess. They are not sure when they cant quite do that, because they have so many things to do in the fall, but the fact that they cleared the deck a little bit last week help. Hopeful,ay, hes talking with leader mcconnell. Hes clear he doesnt want to wait until the end of the year for holding this public vote for. Hairman high chairman pai there is thinking that he is reluctant about on these things. Thinking that he is very wary just knowing this is coming down the pike. It would give democrats sincemmunition, deregulating the media space has also proven quite controversial. Peter this is the first full contingent on the sec sec, all five commissioners. Lydia thats right. One familiar face is back, but a lot of people are interested in seeing what kind of policy positions brandon carr seeks out for himself. Hes always been very close to the chairman. On jobsseen in touch keywireless technology as issues, but there are questions about whether he will always be step in step with the chairman or whether he may be an independent actor on different issues. That is something to watch, but i dont expect fireworks for this upcoming meeting. Peter what are you following . Tara now that we have the full commission, i have taken note trying to suss out the priorities for the new commissioner brandon carr , and they both have visited North Carolina. I have taken special note of that. They both have different agendas and nine. In mind. Went to a Cyber Company to take a little tour. He seemed to be very tuned into the job aspect of rods and deployment and the next generation 5g, whereas rosenworcel has spoken about the e rate subsidies for schools and the socalled homework cap, kids without Home Internet access having disadvantages, which is a big priority for her. Those North Carolina visits, to intoive a little glimpse what they are going to prioritize. Very curious as to how far or not far commission will car commissioner carr will heed to chairman pai. Comm. Pres. Juncker the other interesting thing john the other interesting how they will act after six months away from the commission. There seems to be a chance she might be a little more outspoken. Was interesting is this comes backdrop of the other democratic commissioner may be leaving at some point. That has been one of the longtime questions and rumors when shemonths, about might actually leave. Rosenworcel is the sole democrat, when it comes to bigger media issues, it is incumbent on her to stake out those positions in a new way. That has been commissioner cliburns rule all year, the one democrat on a smaller commission, but that will be worth watching. Especially with the recent hurricanes, that is something that commissioner what commissioner rosenworcel has been very vocal on. Early oneen out very these things as well. Im curious to see how that involves, especially if we get an announcement that commissioner clyburn is leaving. That creates another nomination battle that could be coming up in the next few months. Peter lydia . Full the peter what are you keeping an eye on . Lydia to go back to the Net Neutrality issue, i think looking forward past the end of this year into the next, one of the important things to keep an eye on is we are heading into two different versions of Net Neutrality which will very likely be litigated in courts. We have we learned that neutrality rules from 2015, and. He pai it will be likely litigated by Public Interest groups and other companies that view this as advantageous. That will be a really interesting legal and social had battle, because this has been so galvanizing to the public. Will the attention fade when it hits the courts, or will the pressure keep on, and how will that impact negotiations in congress . Let the isps would like to see is some kind of bipartisan compromise neutrality that of ratehe prospect regulation and title ii regulation, but would still grant consumer protections. That will be an interesting dynamic in 2018. Will they be discussed in congress and what is the fcc schedule . Tara i think the murder at the top of everyones mind, at the fcc and congress, for people who watch this space and people in the industry, is that Sinclair Broadcast Group acquisition of Tribune Media company. Made it to last week tonight with john oliver. He did a segment highlighting his views on the political implications of a company perceived as a broadcasting giant, perceived as somewhat conservative leaning, and perhaps politically aligned with republicans, with the administration, the invocations of them growing even bigger with this acquisition of tribune. Drawing somely criticism from Public Interest enough,and strangely other conservative media outlets, like one American News network. It is a small somewhat rightleaning media company. And from small cable operators. Kind of a combination of strange allies, strange bedfellows, if you will, that are coming up against this proposed merger. The invocations are that it will because ofmer costs, transmitting some of these this content, and on competitive grounds, and from Public Interest groups, and political interests as well. That is one of the biggest mergers to watch going into the end of the year. And chairman pai himself is seen as giving handouts to sink their to make this happen. Thats one of the complicated things about the politics and one reason why that could come up in a senate floor vote, if it is approved, i think it would get quite a bit of fire for him from democrats on the hill and elsewhere. That is something that i also cant help but think about, what that means for chairman pai in an already complicated year with Net Neutrality when people have already given handouts to broadcast giants. I think chairman pai might push back. Lydia there are also other mergers going on, although not as many as some analysts had predicted by this time. Why we are watching closely as centurylinks acquisition of level three, a cyber provider. They are coming close to the closing date at the end of october. They had been pushing quite hard for a september 30 close, but because of some statelevel regulatory issues, they pushed it back. Is of the other main issues that many other companies outside the telecom and media space are confronting is that the confirmation to the department of justice is not done. The fcc often follows the doj and its merger decisionmaking. Theres a lot of questions about whether or not doj staff and fcc, which has caused the shot clock, which is in a 180 day period. They paused that. The thinking is that they were be confirmedhim to and be in place so the fcc could follow in doj, but that has not happened. Theres quite a number of ansi parties were closely watching transaction. He also have the at t acquisition of time warner, which owns hbo and other media properties. They have a little more leeway. They have at least until the end of the year, maybe 2018. That has been another big media Merger Congress is focused on and some of their competitors. Peter did john oliver mentioned that in his piece on sinclair . I dont know if he did, but it hasnt been as perhaps as flashy as think there, but sinclair, but certainly it is on members of congress mind. A few members have democrats on the senate side have sent letters about at t and time warner. I have seen reports in the press as well about questioning wouldr President Trump scrutinize that merger or his administration would scrutinize the merger given his somewhat fraught relationship with cnn, but i have not personally reported on that aspect of it. On the campaign trail, he called for it to be blocked. That raised questions about how in. Ight jump it seems like the actual review process within the antitrust division of the doj has been related to that. That is something the hill has watched closely. Key things democrats did press on was how independent are you going to be from politics . Are you going to be really focused on reviewing a merger in a professional and removed way . A lot of people are wondering when he will get in to a formal signoff for that deal. It seems to be moving forward at this point just fine. Middle oft the september and we still dont have a head of the antitrust division. Nominationsof many that is in the way. Beia i think that he could one of the nominees that democrats force a flip floor vote on, but he is expected to go through, i believe. John senator klobuchar and some others were more open to him than they were to chairman pai. That would provide an opportunity for all of this stuff to become very public in a messy way. Peter is the equus fax breach does that fall into your area . Tara it is someone that something that Senate Chairman john thune is interested in holding some kind of hearing are looking into it on that my colleagues on when beacy and security more engaged on that sorry story. It is a big topic on the hill. It is almost as if committees are fighting over who gets to be investigated first. Comm. Pres. Juncker i think the biggest question is how much bandwidth it will take from other priorities. Certainly, there will be a lot of talk. I dont think there will be a lot of optimism that there will be any specific legislation that comes out of that, but it distracted lawmakers in a new and powerful way, understandably. That a massive data breach creates insecurity. Isp privacy with huge in the telecom space, when the Republican Congress repealed obama era privacy rules for isps. Lydia or prevented them from going into effect. John right. They prevented them from going into effect, and repealed the rules themselves. Discussion from folks like congressman Marsha Blackburn about how to potentially intros impose privacy rules. I am alsoe that watching to see if theres any attention from lawmakers. Peter in this last minute, will we see any tech telecom related legislation that we havent discussed come out of this congress this fall . I think the mobile now bill is an interesting one to watch. A would fifth oldest goal of 2010 executive order calling for i believe 500 megahertz of spectrum to be opened up to the private sector, which opening of a federal spectrum to the private sector is a big priority these days. That could potentially go forward in this congress. Thune hasn doing frequently referred to the other bigticket items that need to go forward before various things ate sec reauthorization things like that, it can get on the table. I agree that if there is any telecom bill that could be passed, it would be mobile now, but it still has to go through the house. There is still much in the air. Other than that, the drumbeat right now is on tax reform. Theres also a lot of different interests in broadband appointment measures. Thats what Marsha Blackburn hopes to give it to in the house after sec reauthorization. Given President Trumps talk of a bigger infrastructure package, that seems pretty far off now, but it is one of those things where a lot of lawmakers want the broadband to be part of it. Peter john hendel is with little. Lydia beyoud is with event driven Financial News outlets. Tara jeffries with bloomberg bna. Cspan, where history unfolds daily. In 1979, cspan was created as a Public Service by americas cable Public Television companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. In washington dc today, there was a gathering on the National Mall that organizers were calling the mother of all rallies. According to the groups website, the rally was nonpartisan and meant to show support for the president and entire country as a whole. Several people have had the opportunity to speak throughout the day. Heres a look at one speaker was mounting ao primary challenge against incumbent Republican Congressman Steven Palazzo of mississippi. I know a lot of you people were duped as well. You voted for guys they gave great speeches at podiums like this, because you are promised a smaller government. You were promised more of your hardearned money you could take home with you. We got the exact opposite. Then came a man named donald j. Trump. He started speaking our language. City is aat this swamp. Politicians with who have their best interests in mind, not our best interests. They will say and do anything to get elected and reelected instead of working for the american people. They will do whatever it takes to get to the next level. Donald trump ran on a platform of draining this swamp, an