A bill intended to speed up federal approval of new satellites remains on hold after the Senate Commerce Committee did not return to work on the proposal Wednesday, a day after Democrats raised concerns at a markup that ended abruptly due to the lack of a quorum.
Before the committee recessed on Tuesday, Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, indicated that it would come back “shortly, perhaps as soon as tomorrow” before a scheduled hearing on autonomous vehicles. But that hearing took place without a return to the markup and it was not rescheduled as of midday.
The bill was among seven other measures that were scheduled for consideration on Tuesday after senators approved a set of nominations. Cruz sponsored the satellites bill, which would set time limits of up to 18 months for the Federal Communications Commission to act on different types of satellite applications. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., co-sponsored the measure.
