President Donald Trump wants to auction off billions of dollars worth of radio spectrum as part of Republicans’ reconciliation bill. But concern over the impact on U.S. intelligence gathering is emerging as a new obstacle.
At issue is what to do with parts of the 7 GHz band that some lawmakers said is used by the intelligence community. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) is among the Republicans who argue this spectrum needs to be protected and not sold off to wireless companies.
Rounds said he would hold up the reconciliation bill over this issue, if necessary.
“We’re not trying to take more, we’re not trying to hoard it. We simply have portions of the spectrum that are simply not available for commercial use,” Rounds said.
Other GOP lawmakers aren’t opposed to selling off the spectrum in this range. But want assurances from the national security officials that it wouldn’t cause problems.
“If the intel community is bothered by it, then all of a sudden we have a concern,” House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said.
So far lawmakers are waiting for more clarity from the Trump administration. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence didn’t respond to a request for comment. Rogers said he brought up the issue with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a meeting this week and asked him to “pay attention” to this concern.
The House Energy and Commerce spectrum proposal, advanced last week, includes certain protections against auctioning off the lower 3 GHz band used by the Pentagon, but leaves the 7 GHz band mostly unprotected.
The panel said in a report accompanying their portion of the reconciliation package that the 7.25 GHz-8.4 GHz range should be excluded from auction. But that doesn’t carry the same weight as legislative language that would enshrine those protections in law.
Golden Dome. Rounds also said the airwaves in the 3 GHz, 7 GHz “and above” ranges are needed for Trump’s proposed missile defense system. The so-called “Golden Dome” is a $175 billion project he wants to finish within his term.
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr told reporters Wednesday that he doesn’t know what frequencies would be specifically needed for the Golden Dome.
