Of the tech and telecom issues that will be discussed in washington this fall and joining us are three working reporters who cover the issues covering either the congress or other agencies. John is with political, lidia is with event driven Financial News outlet and Tara Jeffries is with bloomberg. Before we get into some of the issues i want to ask you an opening question, and see where we go with us. Lidia, what is the influence today of some of the Larger Tech Companies and here in washingtor outside . That is a great question. One of the things we are seeing right now is a permit from the Obama Administration and now from the Trump Administration away from such well recognized influenced by a lot of the Tech Companies like google and facebook toward a little bit more skepticism so their formal influence is definitely in a different light here. What do you think . Yeah, i would agree that the Trump Administration deftly hasnt shown focus on tech groups, Tech Companies at the Obama Administration did and frankly we are seeing some conversations in congress about it, as well given this nod toward antitrust and monopoly issues from the democrats on their better deal agenda. I think we will see more of that in congress as well, not just the white house. John. They seem to be playing defense. Questions about twitter and facebook in terms of the Russian Investigation another piece of legislation such as rob portmans stop sex traffickers act, that is something the Tech Industry is not happy with it all. They see a dangerous with their business and it could go after Tech Companies that host ads that facilitate sex trafficking. Its the type of bill that has attracted bicameral in bipartisan support and people like nick kristof and saying that this is a great piece of legislation he needs to move forward and shaming google very publicly in a huge way. It is interesting to see bills like that, for integrating new pressure with the Tech Industry might have to testify about some of this and talk about this on top of other issues like Net Neutrality whether playing defense a little more with House Republicans and trying to bring in their top executives and this still happy with the backdrop of wanting bigticket priorities to go through Congress Like text. To follow up on that, i think one of the other interesting points to make about this change and influence is that a lot of the telecom companies, especially the ieps that fell under the Net Neutrality rules are i wouldnt say gleeful but they are definitely pleased that some of these tech giants that theyve used as close to the Obama Administration are under greater scrutiny by both Political Parties and by the public a little more so for them they may feel tides have turned a little bit and certainly they are looking at those factors that john and tara discussed as helping them get their positions furthered in congress. Conversely, has there been an increase in lobbying efforts by the amazons in the googles of the world . Have we seen that smart. I will say that as lidia touched on it is advantageous at least when it comes to Net Neutrality for the Tech Companies as opposed to the isps and i think that is partly why the isps want more momentum for congress to take the wheel on Net Neutrality and legislation and you dont necessarily see as much of that coming from the tech side. Where are we going with Net Neutrality with the fcc . That is the big question. I think the sec got their proposed rulemaking out and that should be the final stage of that is upcoming and i think its really in the fccs court rather than congress but we did see that september hearing get postponed i believe indefinitely on the energy yes, the greg waldman hearing. Not a lot of certainty on what exactly happened there but i do think there is a reluctance from the Tech Companies to have their ceos under the microscope on the hill, especially given the status quo is somewhat in their favor at the moment. It seems an interesting gambrell for greg walden because for the august recess he said we would have a hearing on the state and legislation and it did seem to be no real drafter compromise and i believe he was looking for security support as a way to back and his weight into pressuring the democrats to negotiate on legislation. There has typically been reluctant to do that and theyve pointed to the sec and think they can win more of a grass roots and its been more than 22 million to the sec at this point which is extraordinary given how many times that was then when the fcc was initially putting together the Net Neutrality order. At the time, that was recordbreaking. And that was just 4 million. Now more than 22 million and everyone seems to be watching sec chairman is facing more pressure than ever before saying that the senate has to hold a big public rollcall vote on his reconfirmation this fall which is unheard of for an sec nominee. What is interesting is they normally just passed by unanimous consent but that was the impressing thing before the august recess was the democrats played hardball and said we wont include him in a package of nominees and at this point, Senate Leaders are trying to figure out when they can schedule a very public float votes for the chairman and it will be one of those things where democrats have a chance to talk about all the issues that have bothered them and if hes not reconfirmed he will have to leave the commission to. One of those things where he has all the votes but its messy and public process playing right out in the middle of all this. One will the sec follow their agenda and act on Net Neutrality . They are expected to act by the december meeting. So the vote might come first . The latest says they are trying to schedule a vote for the club estate recess so second day of october. They are not sure when they can quite do that because they had so many things they need to do in the fall but the fact that they cleared the deck a little bit last week really helped quite a bit. After today,. [inaudible] hes been talking with leader mcconnell and they have a sense of urgency and they dont want to wait till the end of the year for holding this public vote for chairman because theres been a lot of thinking that his reluctance to act on that certain things with the sec while this was looming. Bigger actions on media ownership and things they are which would it make it any easier for him and even if he has a vote in the senate there is still some thinking that he is very wary just knowing that this is coming down the pipe. It would give democrats more ammunition since deregulating the media ship or deregulating the media space is also proven quite controversial for him. This is the full contingent on the sec and all five commissioners three rs and to these going into the ball. Thats right. There is one familiar face but a lot of folks are interested in seeing what policy positions hes taking and is a former senior aide hes been close weve seen him touch on jobs and 5g wireless in the next generation of Wireless Technology as two key issues but there are questions about whether he will step in step with the chairman or whether he may be an independent actor on different issues so that is something folks will be watching but i dont expect anything, no fireworks are expected for this upcoming meeting. What are you following . Now that we have the full commission i have taken note and trying to assess out the priorities, as lidia said, for the new commissioner brendan car and that returning and they both have their first visits on the job for each of them has been to my native North Carolina so i have taken special note of that but mostly different agendas in mind. Brendan car, for example, i believe a couple weeks ago when he was there went to a Cyber Company to take a little tour and he seemed to be very tuned in to the job aspect of broadband deployment and of the next generation 5g where as jessica has spoken more in her visit today on the e rate subsidy for schools and on the socalled work gap kids without Home Internet access having disadvantages which has been a big priority for her. So, those North Carolina visits to me gave a little glimpse into what those two are going to prioritize and, you know, im also very curious as to how far or not far commissioner car will do to chairman pie. The other interesting thing i think is jessica will act as commissioner back after six months having been away and there seems to be that she might be more outspoken and what is interesting is this comes with a backdrop of the democratic mr. Clyburn may be leaving at some point and has been one of those longtime questions and rumors for many months now but when she might actually leave and that changes the dynamic a little bit if commissioner jessica is the sole veteran democrat on a commission when it comes to the Net Neutrality proceedings and when it comes to bigger media issues it is incumbent on her to stake out those positions in a new sort of way. That has been commissioner clive bones rule is to be the democrat role on a Smaller Commission but Going Forward that is something worth watching. Given the recent hurricane. [inaudible] she has been out early on some of these things and that is something im curious about to see how that evolves especially if we do get an announcement at some point that commissioner clyburn is leaving and that creates a whole nomination style that could be coming up in the next months or a year. What are you keeping an eye on . How will that impact negotiations in congress because what the isp would love to see his bipartisan compromise, Net Neutrality that avoids the prospect of regulation but still grand certain can consumer and competitive protections. I think that will be interesting to watch in 2018. Will mergers be discussed in congress and what is the fcc schedule. I like the mergers at the top of everyones mind at fcc and congress and people who watch this and people in the industry is the Sinclair Broadcast Group acquisition of tribune media. Last night don oliver did a segment highlighting the political implications of a company perceived as a broadcasting giant perceived as conservative leaning and perhaps politically aligned with republicans the administration, the implications of them growing bigger with the acquisition of tribune. It certainly drawing some criticism from Public Interest group and conservative media networks, surprisingly. , and from small cable operator operators, and its kind of a combination of strange allies, strange bedfellows, if you will, that are coming up against this merger, on the implications that it will raise consumer cost because of the fees of transmitting this content and on competitive grounds and Interest Groups as well. Think that will be an interesting merger to watch. Very interesting given the chairman himself who has given quite a few handouts to sinclair to make this happen. Thats complicated about the politics and one reason it could come up in about. If it is approved, i think that will get quite a bit of fire from him from democrats on the hill. I cant help but think what that means for the chairman in a complicated year with Net Neutrality. He might pushback as wilson claire. There are other mergers going on in this space although not as many as some analysts had predicted. One we are watching really closely is century link acquisition of level three and they are coming up close to the closing date in october. They had been pushing quite hard for september 30 close but because of regulatory issues, they push it back. They are pushing that many other companies outside telecom and media space are confronting that we still dont have a new head of the department of justice and the fcc often follows the d. O. J. In decisionmaking. This . Whether d. O. J. Staff and fcc which is a 180 day period for them to make a decision but they can posit at any time that could because they were waiting for him to be confirmed and be in place so the fcc could follow on d. O. J. But that hasnt happened so there are a number of emc parties test and see parties. [inaudible] have a little more leeway, they havent told the end of the year, maybe until 2018 but thats been another big merger that congress has been focused on. Did jim oliver mention not on his piece on sinclair. I dont know if he did, but it hasnt been as flashy as sinclair, but certainly its on member of congress is mine but ive seen a few members have sent letters to the fcc about at t time warner. Ive also seen reports in the press as well about whether President Trump would scrutinize that merger given his relationship with cnn. I have not personally reported on that aspect of it. Or had. He called for. [inaudible] that raises a lot of questions about how much he might jump in any way, but it sounds like the actual review process within the antitrust process in the d. O. J. Has been somewhat insulated. Thats something the hill has been watching closely. Democrats didnt want to know how independent from politics he will be from the spread will you be really focused on reviewing a merger in a professional, removed way. A lot of people are wondering when they will be in for final signoff. It appears to be moving fine at this point. Theyre able to talk through conditions but its almost middle of september and we dont have ahead of the antitrust division. I think thats something in the wings that people are waiting on quite a bit. I think he could be one of the nominees that democrats force a roll call vote on but i think he is expected to go through. He has the support of some democrats as well it will come up in a very public, potentially messy waste. Is the Equifax Breach of story that any of the three of you are covering . Does that fall into your area. Its something that they are interested in, they are looking into it on that committee. My colleagues on the privacy, Security Committee would be more immediately engaged in thats right. Its certainly something that is a big topic on the hill. Its almost as if committees are fighting over who gets to investigate it first. I think the biggest question is how much bandwidth would that take from other priorities. Certainly there will be a lot of talk about it. I dont theres a lot of optimism that there will be specific legislation that comes out of it, but it has distracted lawmakers. Understandably, its a massive data breach that creates so many questions about privacy and Data Security for the things im curious as to how it affects isp privacy. Was huge in the telecom space. Or prevented them from going into effect. Right, but they had been there and they repealed the rules themselves. They hadnt quite gone into effect yet. Theres been a lot of discussion from folks like. [inaudible] on how to impose privacy rules on Tech Companies and dynasty ask. Im watching to see if theres any attention on that respect. In this last minute, will we see any tech telecom legislatelegislation that we havent discussed come out of this congress this fall . I think the mobile now bill is an interesting one to watch, this goal of 2010 executive order calling for 500 megahertz be opened up to the private sector and thats a big priority these days. I do think that could potentially go forward in this congress but they have frequently referred to all the other bigticket items that need to go forward before before things like at sec authorization can get on the table. I agree if theres any telecom bill that would get past it could be mobile now but its got to go through the house and theres still very much in the air. The focus is on tax reform. Theres a lot of different interest in broadband measures. Given President Trumps talk, it seems pretty far off now. John is with politico. Tara jeffries with bloomberg dna. Hillary clinton gives her personal account of the president ial campaign in her memoir, what happened. She will talk with former aide and politics and prose starting at 7 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. The Senate Returns at 3 00 p. M. Eastern to finish work on the Defense Authorization bill. Final passage could come as early as this evening in a series about starting at 530 eastern. Watch the senate live here on cspan2. The house is not in session this week. Members return on september 25 when they will take up faa reauthorization and chip. Watch the house live on cspan. More now on the week ahead in congress from this mornings washingtonn journal. A National Political reporter for the nationa national post. Since he was last on this program he was named moderator of the week on cbs. Congratulations on that