Communications Act of 2006
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 652.
Advanced Telecommunications and Opportunities Reform Act or the Communications Act of 2006 - Title I: War on Terrorism - Subtitle A: Call Home - (Sec. 101) Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reduce the cost of calling home for U.S. military personnel stationed outside the United States in support of military operations, training exercises, or other approved purposes. Repeals provisions of the Telecommunications Authorization Act of 1992 that are similar but applicable only to specified countries.
Subtitle B: Interoperability - (Sec. 151) Amends the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to allocate a portion of the funds available under such Act for: (1) interoperable communications system equipment grants for equipment that can use, or enable interoperability with systems or networks that can use, reallocated public safety spectrum; (2) interoperable emergency communications coordination, planning, and training grants; and (3) establishing a strategic technology reserve to preposition or secure interoperable communications systems for immediate deployment in an emergency or major disaster, including using prenegotiated contracts for rapid deployment rather than warehousing.
Requires the FCC to report to Congress on the technical feasibility of creating a back-up emergency communications system providing a framework for development of a resilient interoperable communications system for emergency responders in an emergency.
Directs the Secretary to reserve a portion of funds under the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 to provide grants for projects to public safety answering points that enable interoperability and that advance E-911 deployment.
(Sec. 152) Amends the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 to substitute references to the Secretary of Homeland Security for references to the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the Department of Commerce in provisions relating to grants for public safety interoperable communications.
(Sec. 153) Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to award at least $1 billion for public safety interoperable communications grants by September 30, 2006.
The summary continues for 98 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on September 29, 2006. 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 September 29, 2006: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 652.
- 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 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 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?
JOE BARTON (R-TX) introduced it on May 1, 2006, and 55 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 19 Democrats, 36 Republicans.
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 May 1, 2006, 7437 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7286 days ago, on September 29, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 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