--- kind: "diff" citation: "H.R. 3675" bill: "113-hr-3675" heading: "Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2014" from: "ih" from_label: "Introduced in House" to: "rh" to_label: "Reported in House" sections_amended: 3 sections_added: 0 sections_removed: 1 url: "https://uscodex.org/bills/113/hr/3675/changes/rh" --- # H.R. 3675 — what changed H.R. 3675, Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2014 — 3 sections amended and 1 removed between Introduced in House and Reported in House. Edits are marked `struck` and `inserted`. ## Sec. 2 FCC process reform - (a) In general— Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 12 the following new section: - “13. Transparency and efficiency - “(a) Rulemaking requirementsInitial rulemaking and inquiry - “(1) Requirements for notices Rulemaking—Not later than 1 year after the date of proposed rulemaking—The Commission may not issue a notice the enactment of proposed rulemaking unless the Federal Communications Commission provides for a period Process Reform Act of not less than 30 days for 2013, the submission of comments Commission shall complete a rulemaking proceeding and an additional period of not less than 30 days adopt procedural changes to its rules to maximize opportunities for the submission of reply comments on such notice public participation and the Commission includes in such notice the following:efficient decisionmaking. - “(A) Either—“(2) Requirements for rulemaking—The rules adopted under paragraph (1) shall— - “(i) an identification of—“(A) set minimum comment periods for comment and reply comment, subject to a determination by the Commission that good cause exists for departing from such minimum comment periods, for— - “(I) a notice of inquiry, a prior notice of proposed rulemaking, or a notice on a petition for rulemaking issued by the Commission during the 3-year period preceding the issuance of the notice of proposed rulemaking concerned and of which such notice is a logical outgrowth; or“(i) significant regulatory actions, as defined in Executive Order 12866; and - “(II) an order of a court reviewing action by the Commission or otherwise directing the Commission to act that was issued by the court during the 3-year period preceding the issuance of the notice of proposed “(ii) all other rulemaking concerned and in response to which such notice is being issued; orproceedings; - “(ii) a finding (together with a brief statement “(B) establish policies concerning the submission of reasons therefor)—extensive new comments, data, or reports towards the end of the comment period; - “(I) that the proposed rule “(C) establish policies regarding treatment of comments, ex parte communications, and data or reports (including statistical reports and reports to Congress) submitted after the proposed amendment comment period to ensure that the public has adequate notice of an existing rule will not impose additional burdens and opportunity to respond to such submissions before the Commission relies on industry such submissions in any order, decision, report, or consumers; oraction; - “(II) “(D) establish procedures for good cause, that a notice publishing the status of inquiry is impracticable, unnecessary, open rulemaking proceedings and proposed orders, decisions, reports, or contrary to actions on circulation for review by the public interest.Commissioners, including which Commissioners have not cast a vote on an order, decision, report, or action that has been on circulation for more than 60 days; - “(B) The specific language of the proposed rule or “(E) establish deadlines (relative to the proposed amendment date of an existing rule.filing) for— - “(C) In “(i) in the case of a proposal to create a program activity, proposed performance measures petition for evaluating the effectiveness a declaratory ruling under section 1.2 of the program activity.title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, issuing a public notice of such petition; - “(D) In “(ii) in the case of a proposal to substantially change petition for rulemaking under section 1.401 of such title, issuing a program activity—public notice of such petition; and - “(i) proposed performance measures for evaluating “(iii) in the effectiveness case of a petition for reconsideration under section 1.106 or 1.429 of such title or an application for review under section 1.115 of such title, issuing a public notice of a decision on the program activity as proposed to be changed; orpetition or application by the Commission or under delegated authority (as the case may be); - “(ii) a proposed finding that existing performance measures will effectively evaluate the program activity as proposed “(F) establish guidelines (relative to be changed.the date of filing) for the disposition of petitions filed under section 1.2 of such title; - “(2) Requirements “(G) establish procedures for rules—Except as provided in the 3rd sentence inclusion of section 553(b) the specific language of title 5, United States Code, the Commission may not adopt proposed rule or amend a the proposed amendment of an existing rule unless—in a notice of proposed rulemaking; and - “(A) the specific language of the adopted rule or the amendment of an existing rule is a logical outgrowth of the specific language “(H) require notices of a proposed rulemaking and orders adopting a rule or a proposed amendment of amending an existing rule included in a notice of proposed rulemaking, as described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1);that— - “(B) such notice “(i) create (or propose to create) a program activity to contain performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness of proposed rulemaking—the program activity; and - “(i) was issued in compliance with such paragraph and during the 3-year period preceding the adoption of the rule or the amendment of an existing rule; and“(ii) substantially change (or propose to substantially change) a program activity to contain— - “(ii) is identified in “(I) performance measures for evaluating the order making effectiveness of the adoption or amendment;program activity as changed (or proposed to be changed); or - “(C) in the case of the adoption of “(II) a rule or the amendment of an existing rule finding that may have an economically significant impact, existing performance measures will effectively evaluate the order contains—program activity as changed (or proposed to be changed). - “(i) an identification and analysis “(3) Inquiry—Not later than 1 year after the date of the specific market failure, actual consumer harm, burden enactment of existing regulation, or failure the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2013, the Commission shall complete an inquiry to seek public institutions that warrants comment on whether and how the adoption or amendment;Commission should— - “(ii) “(A) establish procedures for allowing a reasoned determination that the benefits bipartisan majority of the adopted rule Commissioners to place an order, decision, report, or action on the amendment agenda of an existing rule justify its costs (recognizing that some benefits and costs are difficult to quantify), taking into account alternative forms of regulation and the need to tailor regulation to impose the least burden on society, consistent with obtaining regulatory objectives; andopen meeting; - “(iii) a reasoned determination that market forces are unlikely to resolve within “(B) establish procedures for informing all Commissioners of a reasonable period number of time options available to the specific market failure, actual consumer harm, burden of existing regulation, Commission for resolving a petition, complaint, application, rulemaking, or failure of public institutions identified under clause (i);other proceeding; - “(D) in “(C) establish procedures for ensuring that all Commissioners have adequate time, prior to being required to decide a petition, complaint, application, rulemaking, or other proceeding (including at a meeting held pursuant to section 5(d)), to review the case of proposed Commission decision document, including the adoption specific language of a any proposed rule or the any proposed amendment of an existing rule that creates a program activity, the order contains performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness of the program activity; andrule; - “(E) in the case of the adoption of a rule or “(D) establish procedures for publishing the amendment text of agenda items to be voted on at an existing rule open meeting in advance of such meeting so that substantially changes a program activity, the order contains—public has the opportunity to read the text before a vote is taken; - “(i) performance measures for evaluating “(E) establish deadlines (relative to the effectiveness date of the program activity as changed; orfiling) for disposition of applications for a license under section 1.913 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations; - “(ii) a finding that existing performance measures will effectively evaluate “(F) assign resources needed in order to meet the program activity as changed.deadlines described in subparagraph (E), including whether the Commission’s ability to meet such deadlines would be enhanced by assessing a fee from applicants for such a license; and - “(3) Data for performance measures—The Commission shall develop a performance measure “(G) publish each order, decision, report, or proposed performance measure required by this subsection to rely, where possible, on data already collected by action not later than 30 days after the Commission.date of the adoption of such order, decision, report, or action. - “(4) Cost-benefit determination not subject to judicial review—A determination under paragraph (2)(C)(ii) Data for performance measures—The Commission shall not be subject develop a performance measure or proposed performance measure required by this subsection to judicial review.rely, where possible, on data already collected by the Commission. - “(b) Adequate deliberation by Commissioners—The Periodic review—On the date that is 5 years after the completion of the rulemaking proceeding under subsection (a)(1), and every 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall by rule establish procedures for—initiate a new rulemaking proceeding to continue to consider such procedural changes to its rules as may be in the public interest to maximize opportunities for public participation and efficient decisionmaking. - “(1) informing all Commissioners of a reasonable number of options available to the Commission for resolving a petition, complaint, application, rulemaking, or other proceeding; - “(2) ensuring that all Commissioners have adequate time, prior to being required to decide a petition, complaint, application, rulemaking, or other proceeding (including at a meeting held pursuant to section 5(d)), to review the proposed Commission decision document, including the specific language of any proposed rule or any proposed amendment of an existing rule; and - “(3) publishing the text of agenda items to be voted on at an open meeting in advance of such meeting so that the public has the opportunity to read the text before a vote is taken. - “(c) Nonpublic collaborative discussions - “(1) In general—Notwithstanding section 552b of title 5, United States Code, a bipartisan majority of Commissioners may hold a meeting that is closed to the public to discuss official business if— - “(A) a vote or any other agency action is not taken at such meeting; - “(B) each person present at such meeting is a Commissioner, an employee of the Commission, a member of a joint board or conference established under section 410, or a person on the staff of such a joint board or conference or of a member of such a joint board or conference; and - “(C) an attorney from the Office of General Counsel of the Commission is present at such meeting. - “(2) Disclosure of nonpublic collaborative discussions—Not later than 2 business days after the conclusion of a meeting held under paragraph (1), the Commission shall publish a disclosure of such meeting, including— - “(A) a list of the persons who attended such meeting; and - “(B) a summary of the matters discussed at such meeting, except for such matters as the Commission determines may be withheld under section 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code. - “(3) Preservation of open meetings requirements for agency action—Nothing in this subsection shall limit the applicability of section 552b of title 5, United States Code, with respect to a meeting of Commissioners other than that described in paragraph (1). - “(d) Access to certain information on Commission’s website—The Commission shall provide direct access from the homepage of its website to— - “(d) Initiation of items by bipartisan majority—The Commission shall by rule establish procedures for allowing a bipartisan majority of Commissioners to— - “(1) direct Commission staff to draft an order, decision, report, or action for review by the Commission; and - “(2) place an order, decision, report, or action on the agenda of an open meeting. - “(e) Public review of certain reports and ex parte communications - “(1) In general—Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Commission may not rely, in any order, decision, report, or action, on— - “(A) a statistical report or report to Congress, unless the Commission has published and made such report available for comment for not less than a 30-day period prior to the adoption of such order, decision, report, or action; or - “(B) an ex parte communication or any filing with the Commission, unless the public has been afforded adequate notice of and opportunity to respond to such communication or filing, in accordance with procedures to be established by the Commission by rule. - “(2) Exception—Paragraph (1) does not apply when the Commission for good cause finds (and incorporates the finding and a brief statement of reasons therefor in the order, decision, report, or action) that publication or availability of a report under subparagraph (A) of such paragraph or notice of and opportunity to respond to an ex parte communication under subparagraph (B) of such paragraph are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. - “(f) Publication of status of certain proceedings and items—The Commission shall by rule establish procedures for publishing the status of all open rulemaking proceedings and all proposed orders, decisions, reports, or actions on circulation for review by the Commissioners, including which Commissioners have not cast a vote on an order, decision, report, or action that has been on circulation for more than 60 days. - “(g) Deadlines for action—The Commission shall by rule establish deadlines for any Commission order, decision, report, or action for each of the various categories of petitions, applications, complaints, and other filings seeking Commission action, including filings seeking action through authority delegated under section 5(c)(1). - “(h) Prompt release of certain reports and decision documents - “(1) Statistical reports and reports to Congress - “(A) Release schedule—Not later than January 15th of each year, the Commission shall identify, catalog, and publish an anticipated release schedule for all statistical reports and reports to Congress that are regularly or intermittently released by the Commission and will be released during such year. - “(B) Publication deadlines—The Commission shall publish each report identified in a schedule published under subparagraph (A) not later than the date indicated in such schedule for the anticipated release of such report. - “(2) Decision documents—The Commission shall publish each order, decision, report, or action not later than 30 days after the date of the adoption of such order, decision, report, or action. - “(3) Effect if deadlines not met - “(A) Notification of Congress—If the Commission fails to publish an order, decision, report, or action by a deadline described in paragraph (1)(B) or (2), the Commission shall, not later than 7 days after such deadline and every 14 days thereafter until the publication of the order, decision, report, or action, notify by letter the chairpersons and ranking members of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. Such letter shall identify such order, decision, report, or action, specify the deadline, describe the reason for the delay, and indicate when the Commission anticipates that such order, decision, report, or action will be published. The Commission shall publish such letter. - “(B) No impact on effectiveness—The failure of the Commission to publish an order, decision, report, or action by a deadline described in paragraph (1)(B) or (2) shall not render such order, decision, report, or action ineffective when published. - “(i) Biannual scorecard reports - “(1) In general—For the 6-month period beginning on January 1st of each year and the 6-month period beginning on July 1st of each year, the Commission shall prepare a report on the performance of the Commission in conducting its proceedings and meeting the deadlines established under subsections (g), (h)(1)(B), and (h)(2). - “(2) Contents—Each report required by paragraph (1) shall contain detailed statistics on such performance, including, with respect to each Bureau of the Commission— - “(A) in the case of performance in meeting the deadlines established under subsection (g), with respect to each category established under such subsection— - “(i) the number of petitions, applications, complaints, and other filings seeking Commission action that were pending on the last day of the period covered by such report; - “(ii) the number of filings described in clause (i) that were not resolved by the deadlines established under such subsection and the average length of time such filings have been pending; and - “(iii) for petitions, applications, complaints, and other filings seeking Commission action that were resolved during such period, the average time between initiation and resolution and the percentage resolved by the deadlines established under such subsection; - “(B) in the case of proceedings before an administrative law judge— - “(i) the number of such proceedings completed during such period; and - “(ii) the number of such proceedings pending on the last day of such period; and - “(C) the number of independent studies or analyses published by the Commission during such period. - “(3) Publication and submission—The Commission shall publish and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate each report required by paragraph (1) not later than the date that is 30 days after the last day of the period covered by such report. - “(j) Transaction review standards - “(1) In general—The Commission shall condition its approval of a transfer of lines, a transfer of licenses, or any other transaction under section 214, 309, or 310 or any other provision of this Act only if— - “(A) the imposed condition is a remedy to a harm that would likely arise as a direct result of the specific transfer or specific transaction that this Act empowers the Commission to review; - “(B) the Commission could impose a similar requirement under the authority of a specific provision of law other than a provision empowering the Commission to review a transfer of lines, a transfer of licenses, or other transaction; and - “(C) the likely harm described in subparagraph (A) is presented by the specific transfer of lines, transfer of licenses, or other transaction, such that the harm is not presented by persons not involved in the transfer or other transaction. - “(2) Exclusions—In reviewing a transfer of lines, a transfer of licenses, or any other transaction under section 214, 309, or 310 or any other provision of this Act, the Commission may not consider a voluntary commitment of a party to such transfer or transaction unless the Commission could adopt that voluntary commitment as a condition under paragraph (1). - “(k) Access to certain information on Commission’s website—The Commission shall provide direct access from the homepage of its website to— - “(1) detailed information regarding— - “(A) the budget of the Commission for the current fiscal year; - “(B) the appropriations for the Commission for such fiscal year; and - “(C) the total number of full-time equivalent employees of the Commission; and - “(2) the performance plan most recently made available by the Commission under section 1115(b) of title 31, United States Code. - “(e) Federal Register publication - “(l) Federal Register publication - “(1) In general—In the case of any document adopted by the Commission that the Commission is required, under any provision of law, to publish in the Federal Register, the Commission shall, not later than the date described in paragraph (2), complete all Commission actions necessary for such document to be so published. - “(2) Date described—The date described in this paragraph is the earlier of— - “(A) the day that is 45 days after the date of the release of the document; or - “(B) the day by which such actions must be completed to comply with any deadline under any other provision of law. - “(3) No effect on deadlines for publication in other form—In the case of a deadline that does not specify that the form of publication is publication in the Federal Register, the Commission may comply with such deadline by publishing the document in another form. Such other form of publication does not relieve the Commission of any Federal Register publication requirement applicable to such document, including the requirement of paragraph (1). - “(f) Consumer complaint database - “(m) Consumer complaint database - “(1) In general—In evaluating and processing consumer complaints, the Commission shall present information about such complaints in a publicly available, searchable database on its website that— - “(A) facilitates easy use by consumers; and - “(B) to the extent practicable, is sortable and accessible by— - “(i) the date of the filing of the complaint; - “(ii) the topic of the complaint; - “(iii) the party complained of; and - “(iv) other elements that the Commission considers in the public interest. - “(2) Duplicative complaints—In the case of multiple complaints arising from the same alleged misconduct, the Commission shall be required to include only information concerning one such complaint in the database described in paragraph (1). - “(g) Form of publication - “(n) Form of publication - “(1) In general—In complying with a requirement of this section to publish a document, the Commission shall publish such document on its website, in addition to publishing such document in any other form that the Commission is required to use or is permitted to and chooses to use. - “(2) Exception—The Commission shall by rule establish procedures for redacting documents required to be published by this section so that the published versions of such documents do not contain— - “(A) information the publication of which would be detrimental to national security, homeland security, law enforcement, or public safety; or - “(B) information that is proprietary or confidential. - “(h) Transparency relating to performance in meeting FOIA requirements—The Commission shall take additional steps to inform the public about its performance and efficiency in meeting the disclosure and other requirements of section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), including by doing the following: - “(o) Transparency relating to performance in meeting FOIA requirements—The Commission shall take additional steps to inform the public about its performance and efficiency in meeting the disclosure and other requirements of section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), including by doing the following: - “(1) Publishing on the Commission’s website the Commission’s logs for tracking, responding to, and managing requests submitted under such section, including the Commission’s fee estimates, fee categories, and fee request determinations. - “(2) Releasing to the public all decisions made by the Commission (including decisions made by the Commission’s Bureaus and Offices) granting or denying requests filed under such section, including any such decisions pertaining to the estimate and application of fees assessed under such section. - “(3) Publishing on the Commission’s website electronic copies of documents released under such section. - “(4) Presenting information about the Commission’s handling of requests under such section in the Commission’s annual budget estimates submitted to Congress and the Commission’s annual performance and financial reports. Such information shall include the number of requests under such section the Commission received in the most recent fiscal year, the number of such requests granted and denied, a comparison of the Commission’s processing of such requests over at least the previous 3 fiscal years, and a comparison of the Commission’s results with the most recent average for the United States Government as published on www.foia.gov. - “(i) Prompt release of statistical reports and reports to Congress—Not later than January 15th of each year, the Commission shall identify, catalog, and publish an anticipated release schedule for all statistical reports and reports to Congress that are regularly or intermittently released by the Commission and will be released during such year. - “(j) Annual scorecard reports - “(1) In general—For the 1-year period beginning on January 1st of each year, the Commission shall prepare a report on the performance of the Commission in conducting its proceedings and meeting the deadlines established under subsection (a)(2)(E) and the guidelines established under subsection (a)(2)(F). - “(2) Contents—Each report required by paragraph (1) shall contain detailed statistics on such performance, including, with respect to each Bureau of the Commission— - “(A) with respect to each type of filing specified in subsection (a)(2)(E) or (a)(2)(F)— - “(i) the number of filings that were pending on the last day of the period covered by such report; - “(ii) the number of filings described in clause (i) for which each applicable deadline or guideline established under such subsection was not met and the average length of time such filings have been pending; and - “(iii) for filings that were resolved during such period, the average time between initiation and resolution and the percentage for which each applicable deadline or guideline established under such subsection was met; - “(B) with respect to proceedings before an administrative law judge— - “(i) the number of such proceedings completed during such period; and - “(ii) the number of such proceedings pending on the last day of such period; and - “(C) the number of independent studies or analyses published by the Commission during such period. - “(3) Publication and submission—The Commission shall publish and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate each report required by paragraph (1) not later than the date that is 30 days after the last day of the period covered by such report. - “(k) Definitions—In this section: - “(p) Definitions—In this section: - “(1) Amendment—The term amendment includes, when used with respect to an existing rule, the deletion of such rule. - “(2) Bipartisan majority—The term bipartisan majority means, when used with respect to a group of Commissioners, that such group— - “(A) is a group of 3 or more Commissioners; and - “(B) includes, for each political party of which any Commissioner is a member, at least 1 Commissioner who is a member of such political party, and, if any Commissioner has no political party affiliation, at least one unaffiliated Commissioner. - “(3) Performance measure—The term performance measure means an objective and quantifiable outcome measure or output measure (as such terms are defined in section 1115 of title 31, United States Code). - “(4) Program activity—The term program activity has the meaning given such term in section 1115 of title 31, United States Code, except that such term also includes any annual collection or distribution or related series of collections or distributions by the Commission of an amount that is greater than or equal to $100,000,000. - “(5) Other definitions—The terms agency action, ex parte communication, and rule have the meanings given such terms in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.” - “(B) includes, for each political party of which any Commissioner is a member, at least 1 Commissioner who is a member of such political party, and, if any Commissioner has no political party affiliation, at least 1 unaffiliated Commissioner. - “(3) Economically significant impact—The term economically significant impact means an effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more annually or a material adverse effect on the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or communities. - “(4) Performance measure—The term performance measure means an objective and quantifiable outcome measure or output measure (as such terms are defined in section 1115 of title 31, United States Code). - “(5) Program activity—The term program activity has the meaning given such term in section 1115 of title 31, United States Code, except that such term also includes any annual collection or distribution or related series of collections or distributions by the Commission of an amount that is greater than or equal to $100,000,000. - “(6) Other definitions—The terms agency action, ex parte communication, and rule have the meanings given such terms in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.” - (b) Effective date dates and implementing rules— - (1) Effective date—dates— - (A) In general—Nonpublic collaborative discussions— The requirements Subsection (c) of section 13 of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by subsection (a), shall apply beginning on the first date that is 6 months after on which all of the date procedural changes to the rules of the enactment Federal Communications Commission required by subsection (a)(1) of this Act.such section have taken effect. - (B) Prior notices of proposed rulemaking—Schedules and reports— If the Federal Communications Commission identifies under paragraph (2)(B)(ii) of subsection (a) Subsections (i) and (j) of such section 13 a notice of proposed rulemaking issued prior shall apply with respect to the date of the enactment of this Act—2014 and any year thereafter. - (i) such notice shall be deemed to have complied with paragraph (1) of such subsection; and - (ii) if such notice did not contain the specific language of a proposed rule or a proposed amendment of an existing rule, paragraph (2)(A) of such subsection shall be satisfied if the adopted rule or the amendment of an existing rule is a logical outgrowth of such notice. - (C) Schedules and reports— Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), subsections (h)(1) and (i) of such section shall apply with respect to 2014 and any year thereafter. - (2) Rules— The Except as otherwise provided in such section 13, the Federal Communications Commission shall promulgate the any rules necessary to carry out such section not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. - (3) Procedures for adopting rules— Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(A), in promulgating rules to carry out such section, the Federal Communications Commission shall comply with the requirements of subsections (a) and (h)(2) of such section. ## Sec. 4 Effect on other laws - Nothing in subsection (a) of section 13 of the Communications this Act of 1934, as added or the amendments made by section 2 of this Act, Act shall be construed to impede relieve the Federal Communications Commission from acting in times of emergency to ensure the availability of efficient and effective communications systems to alert the public to imminent dangerous weather conditions.any obligations under title 5, United States Code, except where otherwise expressly provided. ## Sec. 5 Application of Antideficiency Act to Universal Service Program - (a) In general— Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) is amended by adding at the end the following: - “(m) Application of Antideficiency Act—Section 1341 and subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 31, United States Code, do not apply— - “(1) to any amount collected or received as Federal universal service contributions required by this section, including any interest earned on such contributions; or - “(2) to the expenditure or obligation of amounts attributable to such contributions for universal service support programs established pursuant to this section.” - (b) Repeal of temporary provision— Title III of Public Law 108–494 (118 Stat. 3997) is repealed. - Nothing in subsection (a) of section 13 of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by section 2 of this Act, shall be construed to impede the Federal Communications Commission from acting in times of emergency to ensure the availability of efficient and effective communications systems for State and local first responders. ## Sec. 6 Effect on other laws — removed - Nothing in this Act or the amendment made by this Act shall relieve the Federal Communications Commission from any obligations under title 5, United States Code, except where otherwise expressly provided.