Anna Eshoo: “I thank the ranking member of the committee. Mr. Speaker, within this bill are provisions on spectrum that will define…”

“I thank the ranking member of the committee. Mr. Speaker, within this bill are provisions on spectrum that will define our Nation's ability to lead the world in wireless broadband deployment. It will also define how we will finally provide our first responders with a nationwide interoperable broadband network that the 9/11 Commission called for. {time} 1720 I appreciate Chairman Walden's work with the minority, including the agreement on authorizing voluntary incentive spectrum auctions, reallocating the D-block for public safety, and providing the initial funding for Next Generation 9-1-1. I do have four concerns, and I want to point them out: The first pertains to the treatment of unlicensed spectrum. Unlicensed spectrum has created an innovative space for entrepreneurs, enabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and thousands of other devices and services-- all meaning jobs. In fact, last month, the Consumer Federation of America released a new study which found the consumer benefits of unlicensed spectrum surpassing $50 billion, that's with a ``b,'' per year. Prohibiting the FCC, which is the expert agency, from using some of our Nation's best airwaves for unlicensed use, as the House language does, is simply foolhardy. Secondly, I am very concerned about how the bill treats the spectrum public safety needs to create and manage a nationwide interoperable broadband network. The Republican bill, on the one hand, gives; but on the other hand, it takes away.…”