PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 18, 2025
Spectrum Coordination Act
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to document publicly their interagency coordination efforts with respect to certain spectrum reallocation actions potentially affecting federal spectrum users.
Specifically, for any proposal by the FCC to reallocate radio frequency spectrum in a manner anticipated to result in an auction or licensing that may impact federal spectrum use, the NTIA must file certain information in the public docket for the action during the public comment period. Specifically, this filing must include (1) the date on which the FCC notified the NTIA of the proposed action; (2) any federal entities that may be affected by the proposal; (3) the date on which the NTIA notified those entities of the proposal; and (4) a summary of any technical, procedural, or policy concerns of potentially affected federal entities or the NTIA.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
In the event that the FCC promulgates a final rule involving such a spectrum action, the FCC must publish in the Federal Register along with the final rule an interagency coordination summary describing (1) the date on which the FCC notified the NTIA of the action; and (2) whether the NTIA or any potentially affected federal entity raised concerns regarding the action and, if so, how they were addressed.
Separately, the FCC and the NTIA must update the Memorandum of Understanding between them within three years of the bill’s enactment and periodically thereafter. Updates must reflect changing technological, procedural, and policy circumstances.
People & committees
Rep. Balderson, Troy [R-OH-12] · R–OH
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jun 2, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.2171 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.2171 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.2171 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.2171 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.
PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-03-18 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would require public reporting on coordination between federal agencies over certain proposed changes to radio-frequency use. It would require disclosure of agency concerns and, when a final rule is issued, how those concerns were resolved. Protected information could remain confidential. The agencies would also have to periodically update their coordination agreement.
With respect to each spectrum action, the Assistant Secretary shall file in the public record with respect to such spectrum action
(B) whether concerns were raised under subparagraph (D) or subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) and, if so, the concerns raised; and (C) how any such concerns were resolved.
Nothing in this subsection may be construed to require the disclosure of classified information, or other information reflecting technical, procedural, or policy concerns that are exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code.
Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this section, and not less frequently than every 4 years thereafter, the Commission and the NTIA shall update the Memorandum.
The bill would be called the Spectrum Coordination Act and would add a new section on spectrum management to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act.
This Act may be cited as the Spectrum Coordination Act.
Part A of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act is amended by adding at the end the following: 106. Improving spectrum management
The requirements would apply to specified proposed reallocations of radio frequencies by the Commission. The definition covers reallocations anticipated to lead to competitive bidding—an auction—or licensing that could potentially affect a federal entity’s use of those frequencies.
The term spectrum action means any proposed action by the Commission to reallocate radio frequency spectrum that is anticipated to result in a system of competitive bidding conducted under section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) or licensing that could potentially impact the spectrum operations of a Federal entity.
For each covered action, the Assistant Secretary would have to file information in the public record by the end of the Commission’s comment period. The filing would identify potentially affected federal entities and give the dates when the Commission notified the Assistant Secretary and when the Assistant Secretary notified those entities. Protected information could be redacted.
the Assistant Secretary shall file in the public record with respect to such spectrum action, not later than the end of the period for submitting comments to the Commission with respect to such spectrum action, information (redacted as necessary if the information is protected from disclosure for a reason described in paragraph (3))
(A) the date on which the Commission provided to the Assistant Secretary notice of the spectrum action, as required under the Memorandum; (B) the Federal entities that may be impacted by the spectrum action; (C) the date on which the Assistant Secretary provided to the Federal entities described in subparagraph (B) notice of the spectrum action;
The public filing would also summarize any technical or procedural concerns raised by federal entities and any policy concerns of the Assistant Secretary.
(D) a summary of technical or procedural concerns, if any, of Federal entities with respect to the spectrum action; and (E) a summary of policy concerns, if any, of the Assistant Secretary with respect to the spectrum action.
If the Commission issued a final rule involving a covered action under the specified federal rulemaking law, it would have to publish a public coordination summary alongside the rule in the Federal Register. The summary would state when the Commission notified the Assistant Secretary, whether concerns were raised, what those concerns were, and how they were resolved.
If the Commission promulgates a final rule under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, involving a spectrum action, the Commission shall prepare, make available to the public, and publish in the Federal Register along with the final rule an interagency coordination summary that describes— (A) the date on which the Commission provided to the Assistant Secretary notice of the spectrum action, as required under the Memorandum; (B) whether concerns were raised under subparagraph (D) or subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) and, if so, the concerns raised; and (C) how any such concerns were resolved.
The reporting requirements would not require disclosure of classified information or information about technical, procedural, or policy concerns that is exempt from disclosure under the cited federal public-records law.
Nothing in this subsection may be construed to require the disclosure of classified information, or other information reflecting technical, procedural, or policy concerns that are exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code.
The Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) would have to update their coordination agreement within three years after enactment and at least every four years thereafter. Each update would reflect technological, procedural, and policy changes as the agencies determine necessary and appropriate.
Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this section, and not less frequently than every 4 years thereafter, the Commission and the NTIA shall update the Memorandum.
the Commission and the NTIA shall ensure that each update reflects changing technological, procedural, and policy circumstances, as determined necessary and appropriate by the Commission and the NTIA.
The agreement covered by the bill would be the Commission–NTIA memorandum signed on August 1, 2022, or a successor agreement. The text describes its purpose as improving coordination between federal spectrum-management agencies to promote efficient radio-spectrum use in the public interest.
The term Memorandum means the Memorandum of Understanding between the Commission and the NTIA (relating to increased coordination between Federal spectrum management agencies to promote the efficient use of the radio spectrum in the public interest), signed on August 1, 2022, or any successor memorandum.
The supplied actions snapshot, updated June 2, 2025, records that the bill was introduced in the House and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on March 18, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2025-06-02T14:57:56Z. 2025-03-18: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. 2025-03-18: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-03-18. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential benefit, special exemption or carve-out was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Jun 2, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI