Hill, The

“Build it and they will come.” This line has become shorthand for the idea that new infrastructure, once built, attracts customers. But with broadband — the technology that brings high-speed, reliable internet into our homes, schools, farms and workplaces—the quote may have an unhappy twist: if you don’t build it, they won’t have a chance. What’s missing is the infrastructure.

Democratic Reps are pushing to revive funding for a nonpartisan agency intended to better inform lawmakers about technology. At issue is the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), which was created by Congress in 1972 but closed its doors in 1995 after the then GOP-controlled House cut its funding. The agency provided lawmakers and staffers with expertise on science and technology issues relevant to legislation and public policy, including the areas of intellectual property, technological change, and climate.

Sen Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rep Yvette Clarke (D-NY) are urging the Federal Communications Commission to officially begin collecting data on the racial, ethnic and gender diversity of the broadcast workforce, saying that information could "empower" the commission to improve its oversight of the broadcast industry. The FCC's Democratic commissioners have been raising concerns about the issue for months, arguing that the FCC should reinstate the form (395-B) that requires broadcasters to report the racial, ethnic and gender breakdown of their offices.