Federal

A bill to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to audit Federal spectrum.

Source: Congress.gov · 580 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to examine which electromagnetic spectrum (radio frequencies used for wireless communication) the federal government currently uses. The Assistant Secretary must report the findings to Congress within 18 months after the bill becomes law.

Who It Affects

Federal government agencies that use electromagnetic spectrum for their operations will be audited. Members of Congress will receive the audit report upon request.

Key Provisions

* The Assistant Secretary must conduct an audit of the electromagnetic spectrum assigned or allocated to each federal entity as of the audit date (Sec. 1(b)(1)) * The Assistant Secretary must submit a report to Congress and make it available to each Member of Congress upon request containing the audit results (Sec. 1(b)(2)) * The report must identify each band of spectrum being used by federal entities (Sec. 1(c)(1)) * The report must describe what each spectrum band is used for and how much of each band is being used for that purpose (Sec. 1(c)(2)) * The report must identify which state or geographic area each spectrum band is assigned or allocated for use in (Sec. 1(c)(3)) * The report must specify whether each spectrum band is used only by one federal entity or shared with other federal or non-federal entities (Sec. 1(c)(4)) * The report must identify any spectrum that is not being used by the federal entity (Sec. 1(c)(5)) * The Assistant Secretary must coordinate with the Secretary of Transportation to avoid duplicating a spectrum audit under another law (Sec. 1(e))

What Changes

If this becomes law, the federal government will conduct a comprehensive inventory of which electromagnetic spectrum it uses, how it uses that spectrum, and where unused spectrum exists. Congress will receive an unclassified report with this information.

Important Definitions

The bill defines "Assistant Secretary" as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. "Federal entity" has the meaning given in section 113(l) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act.

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 998 To require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to audit Federal spectrum. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 28, 2023 Mr. LEE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to audit Federal spectrum. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. FEDERAL SPECTRUM AUDIT. 3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 4 (1) the term ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ means the 5 Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communica- 6 tions and Information; and 7 (2) the term ‘‘Federal entity’’ has the meaning 8 given the term in section 113(l) of the National 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S998.IS S998 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 998 IS Telecommunications and Information Administration 1 Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(l)). 2 (b) AUDIT AND REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Sec- 4 retary, in consultation with the head of each Federal enti- 5 ty, shall— 6 (1) conduct an audit of the electromagnetic 7 spectrum that is assigned or otherwise allocated to 8 each Federal entity as of the date of the audit; and 9 (2) submit to Congress, and make available to 10 each Member of Congress upon request, a report 11 containing the results of the audit conducted under 12 paragraph (1). 13 (c) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The Assistant Sec- 14 retary shall include in the report submitted under sub- 15 section (b)(2), with respect to the electromagnetic spec- 16 trum that is assigned or otherwise allocated to a Federal 17 entity as of the date of the audit— 18 (1) each particular band of spectrum being used 19 by the Federal entity; 20 (2) a description of each purpose for which a 21 particular band described in paragraph (1) is being 22 used, and how much of the band is being used for 23 that purpose; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S998.IS S998 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 998 IS (3) the State or other geographic area in which 1 a particular band described in paragraph (1) is as- 2 signed or allocated for use; 3 (4) whether a particular band described in 4 paragraph (1) is used exclusively by the Federal en- 5 tity or shared with another Federal entity or a non- 6 Federal entity; and 7 (5) any portion of the spectrum that is not 8 being used by the Federal entity. 9 (d) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required under 10 subsection (b)(2) shall be submitted in unclassified form 11 but may include a classified annex. 12 (e) RELATION TO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPOR- 13 TATION SPECTRUM AUDIT.—The Assistant Secretary 14 shall coordinate with the Secretary of Transportation to 15 ensure that the audit conducted under this section does 16 not duplicate the audit conducted under section 27003 of 17 the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 18 117–58; 135 Stat. 884). 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S998.IS S998 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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