HR 1641 · 114th Congress 2015–2017, ended

Federal Spectrum Incentive Act of 2015

Fact sheet

Latest action · Dec 2, 2015 Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote .

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedMar 26, 2015
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Federal Spectrum Incentive Act of 2015

Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to allow federal entities that utilize government station licenses to participate in the incentive auction program under which licensees of electromagnetic spectrum voluntarily relinquish their spectrum rights in order for such spectrum to be auctioned for a repurposed commercial use in exchange for a percentage of the auction proceeds.

Permits such federal entities, instead of being reimbursed for the costs of sharing frequencies with nonfederal users or relocating to other frequencies as provided for under current law, to receive a percentage of the proceeds from spectrum it relinquishes for auction by electing to: (1) discontinue operations on eligible frequencies without relocating to other frequencies, or (2) relocate operations to frequencies assigned to another federal entity in order for such entities to share frequencies.

Establishes in the Treasury a Federal Spectrum Incentive Fund to be administered by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in consultation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Requires 1% of the proceeds from such auctions to be deposited in such Fund and the remainder to be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury for the sole purpose of deficit reduction.

Directs OMB to transfer from the Fund to a federal entity a specified amount attributable to the auction of frequencies vacated by such entity. Permits federal entities to use such amounts for: (1) any purposes permitted under the terms and conditions of an appropriations account that was subject to sequestration for any fiscal year under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, provided that the amount used does not exceed the amount by which the account was reduced by sequestration for such fiscal year; or (2) a transfer of amounts to an incumbent federal entity for such purposes when the federal entity relinquishing spectrum relocates its operations to frequencies assigned to another federal entity in order to share frequencies.

Cosponsors 3

Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Mar 26, 2015.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-CAAnna G. EshooOriginalMar 26, 2015
D-CADoris O. MatsuiOriginalMar 26, 2015
R-ORGreg WaldenOriginalMar 26, 2015

Actions 6

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Dec 2, 2015Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote .
  2. Dec 2, 2015Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  3. Aug 13, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.
  4. Mar 27, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
  5. Mar 26, 2015Introduced in House

Related bills 2

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 887Federal Spectrum Incentive Act of 2015Related billMar 26, 2015
HR 3682Reducing Employer Burdens, Unleashing Innovation, and Labor Development Act of 2015Related billSep 30, 2016

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Mar 26, 2015Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.