Democrats say spectrum auction getting off track

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Henry WaxmanHenry Waxman (D-CA), Ranking Member of the  House Commerce and Energy Committee and the Democratic members of the committee wrote a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) telling him that important government work, including prepping for the incentive spectrum auction program, needs to get back on track.


They noted important work done in many of the areas that fall under the wide-ranging jurisdiction of the committee, including food safety, public health, medical research, consumer and product safety, energy and the environment.

As for communications, Waxman and colleagues wrote, “The shutdown’s impact on spectrum supply and funding for first responder communications network.  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may be forced to postpone the first spectrum auction for mobile broadband in six years scheduled for January 2014.1  Neither the National Telecommunications Information Administration nor the FCC is able to work with federal, regional, and local agencies to investigate possible communications system failures for first responders during the shooting at the Navy Yard last month.”

The group concluded, “These are just a few examples of the broad impacts the Republican government shutdown is having on our nation’s federal programs relating to health, consumer and product safety, energy and the environment, and telecommunications. We urge you to end the government shutdown and allow the federal government to resume full operations.”