Letter

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent letters to 12 members of Congress on December 13, 2021, regarding the July 2021 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on small business broadband speed needs. "I do not believe the FCC’s current speed benchmark for broadband, 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits per second download, is adequate," said Chairwoman Rosenworcel. "As GAO points out, the FCC’s speed benchmark has remained at 25/3 Mbps since 2015, despite major changes in demand for broadband in the intervening years.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded to Rep Brian Higgins (D-NY)'s letter asking for a progress update on the agency's broadband data collection process. Rosenworcel's response noted the formation of the Broadband Data Task Force, progress on the new Broadband Data Collection systems and processes, work on the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric, and the FCC's efforts to encourage people to use its Speed Test app as part of the agency's Measuring Broadband America program.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded to House Republicans' letter regarding state and federal net neutrality laws. The GOP letter—dated April 16, 2021 and led by Reps Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Bob Latta (R-OH) as well as 24 others—addressed the Justice Department's withdrawal of its 2018 lawsuit against California for passing its own net neutrality regulations and Rosenworcel's support of the decision.

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) concerning their inquiry into Big Tech payment platforms. Khan identified three areas of concern that she hopes can help to inform the CFPB's inquiry:

House Republican Leaders sent a series of letters to federal agencies asking about steps they are taking to close the digital divide. The letters were sent by Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Oversight and Reform Republican Leader James Comer (R-KY), Appropriations Committee Republican Leader Kay Granger (R-TX), Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Agriculture Committee Republican Leader Glenn Thompson (R-PA).

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded to a September 27 letter from Reps Roger Williams (R-TX), Ed Case (D-HI), and David Trone (D-MD) concerning the review process for long-form applications in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction. Rosenworcel's response highlighted the steps the FCC has taken to "clean up the program before funding was made available to successful bidders" following the issue of some "questionable locations" chosen in the initial funding decisions.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded to a September 30 letter from Rep Victoria Spartz (R-IN) requesting a timeline for the "completion of broadband maps" by the agency. "The FCC has made significant progress," said Rosenworcel in her response. "As I have said before, the best time to undertake this effort was five years ago, but the second best time is right now–and we are proceeding with speed in order to avoid any further delay." Rosenworcel provided updates on a number of agency requirements included in the Broadband DATA Act.

Reps Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Bob Latta (R-OH), along with Sens Roger Wicker (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel seeking information about the agency’s response after the FCC Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that broadband providers have been fraudulently enrolling households in the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program. The providers falsely claimed that certain customers’ households had children attending schools participating in the National School Lunch Program’s Community Eligibility Provisio

Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to United States Attorney General Merrick Garland and Gary Gensler, Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) and SEC to open criminal and civil investigations into Facebook to determine if the company or its executives violated US wire fraud and securities laws.

Reps Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) sent a letter expressing concerns about the "trajectory of the Federal Trade Commission" to FTC Chair Lina Khan.