Efficient Use of Government Spectrum Act of 2012
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Communications and Technology.
Efficient Use of Government Spectrum Act of 2012 - Directs the President, within five years after enactment of this Act, to withdraw or modify the assignment to a federal government station of electromagnetic spectrum between the frequencies from 1755 to 1780 megahertz. (Currently, such frequencies are occupied by the Department of Defense [DOD] and other federal agencies.)
Requires the President, if a federal government station cannot be relocated from such spectrum without jeopardizing essential military capability, to modify the station's assignment of such spectrum to permit shared federal and non-federal use.
Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), within three years after enactment of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, to: (1) reallocate such spectrum for commercial use; and (2) as part of the competitive bidding auctions required by such Act, grant new initial licenses, subject to flexible-use service rules, for the use of such spectrum, paired with the spectrum between frequencies from 2155 to 2180 megahertz already designated for auction.
Directs the proceeds attributable to the competitive bidding of the 1755 to 1780 megahertz range to be allocated in the same manner as other specified frequencies pursuant to such Act for uses including reimbursements to agencies for relocation and sharing costs, the building of the nationwide public safety broadband network, and deposits or reimbursements to the U.S. Treasury.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 26, 2012. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 27, 2012: Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
CLIFF STEARNS (R-FL) introduced it on April 26, 2012, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 26, 2012, 5297 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5296 days ago, on April 27, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers