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Defense policy analysis, commentary and discussion.A bipartisan group of super committee members today called on the Obama administration to expand a planned auction of broadband spectrum frequencies, arguing it could help significantly reduce the nation’s deficit.
The request is the latest in the volley between the White House and the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction, which President Barack Obama has said should aim to cut more than its goal of $1.5 trillion.
In a letter to Obama, Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) wrote that “spectrum auctions would generate tens of billions of dollars in auction proceeds, help the Select Committee meet its deficit reduction goals, stimulate billions in private-sector capital investment, provide a job-creating boost to the economy, and ensure that America continues to lead the world in wireless broadband innovation.”
The lawmakers asked Obama to direct the Office of Management and Budget to reopen his proposal for an auction of broadband spectrum with an eye toward making “every effort into making available paired, internationally-harmonized spectrum below 3 GHz in sufficient block sizes to support mobile broadband services within the next 10 years.”
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