Letter

Republican Commerce Committee Leaders Seek Information About FCC's Response to EBB 'Fraud and Abuse'

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 Warren Calls on DOJ and SEC to Open Criminal and Civil Investigations into Facebook

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.

House Commerce Republicans Express Concerns About the "Trajectory of the FTC" to Chair Lina Khan

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.

ITI Offers Recommendations to Close Digital Divide, Strengthen U.S. Broadband in Infrastructure Law Implementation

In this letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Acting Administrator Evelyn Remaley, ITI called for specific actions to support efforts to close the digital divide and strengthen US broadband infrastructure across all communities:

Coalition Opposes Sohn's Federal Communications Commission Nomination

A coalition of 18 center-right organizations sent a letter to the US Senate opposing the nomination of Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission. "[Sohn's] views on Title II are emblematic of her longstanding tendency to promote policies that over-regulate the industries in the FCC’s jurisdiction," says the letter.

Minnesota Broadband Task Force Urges Gov Tim Walz to Expedite Federal Funding Allocations

On November 29, Chair of the Minnesota Governor's Task Force on Broadband Teddy Bekele and members of the Task Force sent a letter to Gov Tim Walz (D-MN) urging the state government to expedite the distribution of federal broadband funding. In the letter, Bekele and the Task Force cite American Rescue Plan funds that the state is slated to receive, specifically through the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, that would bolster the Minnesota Border-to-Border Broadband Infrastructure grant program.

254 Organizations Call For USF Contributions Reform

254 organizations are calling on broadband policymakers to repair the Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution mechanism. The USF is one of our nation’s most important tools for addressing the digital divide, but its outdated funding mechanism puts the program in danger of collapse and inequitably burdens the consumers who most often end up contributing.

Chairwoman Rosenworcel responds to senators on agency collaboration to improve broadband connectivity, Lifeline outreach

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent letters to 20 senators on November 10, 2021, in response to their letter urging the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the FCC to share existing data to identify communities without high-speed internet access and improve broadband connectivity.

Republicans Demand Oversight of Democrats’ FCC Funding

House Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH) sent a letter to Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Subcommittee Chairman Michael Doyle (D-PA) urging them to hold a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing to address the unprecedented influx of funding to the commission. Democrats provided an additional $25 billion to the FCC through their partisan American Rescue Plan and infrastructure packages and want to give the agency more funds in another partisan Reconciliat

NDIA, SHLB & 68 Organizations Share Support for FCC & NTIA Nominees

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition wrote a joint letter of support urging the Senate Commerce Committee to quickly conduct hearings and speedily confirm President Biden’s nominees to the Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).