Introduction -

This post-election analysis offers a discussion of how President Obama’s re-election, as well changes in Congress, will likely affect telecommunications issues both in the lame duck and in the next session of Congress. While clearly this election was quite positive for Democrats, ultimately the results of the election continue to provide the status quo of divided government. Notably, this was the first election since 2004 where neither Congressional chamber nor the presidency changed control. Because telecommunications and technology issues are less partisan than other areas, individual members on key Congressional committees often have more impact on the policy discussion than do party lines. In addition, key personnel changes in the Administration as well as in Congress will impact the legislative agenda for the 113th Congress. The following update provides a summary of these personnel changes as well as a look at the top telecommunications issues for the lame duck and 113th Congress.

Lame Duck -

With the lame duck session largely focused on “fiscal cliff” issues and emergency funding in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, few telecommunications issues will be addressed. Two exceptions may be cybersecurity and spectrum.