Committee debate paused Tuesday on a bill that would speed federal approval of new satellites as Democrats raised concerns about potential automatic approval, especially as Elon Musk’s SpaceX seeks to build a large constellation of artificial intelligence data satellites.
The Senate Commerce Committee recessed a planned markup without voting on the bill or amendments offered by Democrats after the panel lost its quorum.
Nearly all of the committee’s Republican members attended the markup to vote on a slate of transportation nominees, while most Democrats voted by proxy. But once discussion began on amendments to the satellite bill, Republican members left.
Committee Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sponsored the satellites bill, which would set time limits for the Federal Communications Commission to act on different types of satellite applications. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., co-sponsored the measure.
Cruz said the bill was necessary to address a “considerable backlog” of applications at the FCC and increasing demand for commercial satellites.
“The demand is only increasing. It is increasing significantly and it is increasing in the face of competition from China. In January, the Chinese filed at the International Telecommunication Union to launch 200,000 satellites. Adverse countries are launching their satellites regardless of anything we do. And if we are going to continue to lead in space, and in particular to beat China, we need to be able to move with speed and to be agile,” he said.
Cruz noted that the so-called shot clocks would not prevent the FCC from denying applications as long as the denial came within the time frame.
Ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., offered an amendment that she said would remove language in the bill that would deem applications granted after the review period expired at the FCC.
She said the move was particularly necessary after SpaceX applied to launch a constellation of “up to 1 million” satellites with “unprecedented computing capacity to power advanced artificial intelligence.”
“By directly harnessing near-constant solar power with little operating or maintenance costs, these satellites will achieve transformative cost and energy efficiency while significantly reducing the environmental impact associated with terrestrial data centers,” SpaceX said in its filing to the FCC.
Cantwell said such “mega constellations” would share spectrum with services like “aviation, GPS, weather forecasting, emergency services [and] national security operations.”
She added, “The FCC reviews these applications for a reason, mostly because of interference, to protect the safety of live services, and screen for national security risk and ensure these constellations serve the public. Automatic approval does not speed up that review. It simply eliminates it.”
Cruz sought to link Democratic concerns to political opposition to Musk.
“I understand, today, sometimes politics is a reality and the words ‘Elon Musk’ cause strong feelings in my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. He is nonetheless an extraordinary innovator who is producing incredible technology that is making a real difference in the country. And I think the uniform rules ought to apply to everyone and not have an Elon Musk exception for negative treatment because of perceptions in the political arena,” Cruz said.
The committee did not vote on Cantwell’s amendment because the panel lacked a quorum. The text of the amendment was not immediately available.
Cantwell also suggested that the legislation could be changed to focus on terrestrial stations, which she said “seem to be the biggest backlog.”
BEAD discussion
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., also offered and then withdrew an amendment in response to reports that Musk’s SpaceX subsidiary Starlink is seeking to change its agreements with states under the federally funded Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.
The BEAD program was established to bring broadband internet access to rural and other underserved areas and the program’s rules were rewritten last year to remove a preference for fiber optic cable broadband. Opponents alleged the change was made to benefit Starlink and Musk, who has become a close ally of President Donald Trump.
Rosen said the terms Starlink reportedly proposed, including on “performance testing, network installation, and reserving capacity in its network” would make it harder for states and the federal government to evaluate the service provided by Starlink under BEAD grants.
“The BEAD program was meant to be a once-in-a-generation investment to finally close the digital divide,” Rosen said. “My amendment would protect the integrity of this program by ensuring . . . any satellite provider must comply with the BEAD rules outlined in the bipartisan infrastructure law for them to use the streamlined process under” the satellite applications bill.
The text of her amendment was not immediately available.
She withdrew it after Cruz committed to arranging conversations between the committee and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration about the alleged leaked Starlink document and NTIA’s plans to “uphold the integrity of the BEAD program.”
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., offered his support for Rosen’s concerns and for Cruz’s commitment.
“There is a concern among rural Americans that perhaps the buildout will somehow disadvantage the least populated areas,” Wicker said.
Cruz said the panel could revisit the bill, among others on the agenda, as soon as Wednesday.
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