Spectrum IT Modernization Act of 2020
Latest action. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
Spectrum IT Modernization Act of 2020
This bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and certain other federal agencies to outline plans for modernizing the information technology infrastructure used for the management of federal spectrum.
Specifically, the NTIA shall identify a process to establish goals, including parameters to measure the achievement of those goals, for the modernization of such infrastructure and submit to Congress a modernization plan.
The bill requires each agency to submit to the NTIA and the Policy and Plans Steering Group a report that describes the agency's plan to modernize its federal spectrum infrastructure so that such infrastructure is interoperable with that of the NTIA.
The Government Accountability Office shall review the federal spectrum infrastructure of agencies and oversee the implementation of the modernization plans.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on May 13, 2020. 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 May 20, 2020: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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?
Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced it on May 13, 2020, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 1 Republican.
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 13, 2020, 2311 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2304 days ago, on May 20, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers