Crystal Tully

Collaborated with Senate leadership on legislative agenda and messaging, and advocated for floor action on committee-reported bills. Aided in enactment of several landmark bills including the CHIPS and Science Act, the Broadband DATA Act, the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, and the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. Contributed to the enactment of more than 20 bipartisan communications bills including the MOBILE NOW Act, the Federal Communications Commission Reauthorization Act, the Viewer Protection Act, and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act. Established broadband infrastructure working group that resulted in the introduction of the bipartisan STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act. Represented mobile wireless trade association with more than 100 carriers nationwide before Congress, federal agencies, and CCA Political Action Committee events.

Last week, Congress passed both the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the American Relief Act, a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through March 14, 2025. Both bills faced a bumpy path to the President’s desk, foreshadowing potential challenges to the congressional work that must get done next year.

Over the weekend, lawmakers unveiled the latest push for a federal privacy law – the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA). The bill was circulated as a discussion draft by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Sen. Cantwell and Rep. McMorris Rodgers represent just “two corners” of the committee leadership that have historically worked on federal privacy legislation; notably missing are the other two corners – Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Nevertheless, the new APRA is a major development and marks the first bipartisan step forward on federal privacy efforts following last year’s American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) – which advanced further than any comprehensive privacy law in Congress’ history but ultimately never saw a House floor vote.

Less than two months after announcing plans and guidance for winding down the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) (see our prior Alert here), the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) released a Public Notice establishing April 2024 as the final month that providers will be fully reimbursed for providing ACP-supported service to participating households, and May 2024 as the final month that the ACP will provide partial reimbursement of any ACP benefit provided to participating households. A summary of the Public Notice is provided below.

In an Order released by the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) on January 11, 2024, the agency announced plans and guidance for winding down the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which was established in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (Infrastructure Act) to support discounted broadband service for qualified low-income households by providing a monthly benefit to help pay for broadband service. Providers participating in the ACP program should review the requirements and procedures to wind down the ACP to ensure compliance with program rules. A summary of the Order is provided below.

Last week, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (Select Committee) issued a comprehensive new bipartisan report, including almost 150 policy recommendations outlining a “strategy to fundamentally reset” the U.S. – China relationship. These recommendations, if pursued in legislation or by the Executive branch through policy changes, would impact tech innovators, cloud and telecom providers, federal contractors, and many other parts of the U.S. economy.