Letter

House Commerce Committee Minority Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Minority Leader Bob Latta (R-OH) sent a letter urging the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to prioritize unserved and rural areas for broadband deployment. As NTIA prepares to announce the requirements and allowed uses of grant funding to implement this program consistent with the law, they want to underscore two related aspects of program administration that are crucial to ensure that infrastructure funding is targeted effectively to the com

Strong and unified leadership by the US government is needed to preserve and advance Global Positioning System (GPS) leadership that recognizes the inherently unique functional and technical attributes of GPS. As a satellite-based navigation system, GPS operates in a manner that is distinctly different from terrestrial-based communications services.

Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD) sent a letter to to Acting Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission Jessica Rosenworcel raising concerns about the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) long-term sustainability as a mechanism to close the nation’s digital divide.

In a letter to Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, rural broadband advocates expressed concern with the FCC's 2021 Broadband Deployment Report and sought the expedited launch of a new proceeding for a new report. The advocates faulted the report's reliance on faulty data, an outdated benchmark for what constitutes broadband, and ambiguity for constitutes deployment in a “reasonable and timely fashion.”

As a member of the Rebuild Rural Coalition, which collectively represents US agricultural producers, rural businesses, rural communities, and rural families, NTCA sent a letter urging President Joe Biden and his administration to address the unique needs of rural infrastructure in all related legislative proposals. The groups wrote: Your plan to Build Back Better in Rural America rightly notes the crumbling state of our country’s infrastructure. We have witnessed this deterioration first-hand – how it jeopardizes jobs, our agricultural competitiveness, and the health of rural families.

On Jan 15, 2021, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai responded to several Members of Congress regarding the implementation of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. Lawmakers advocated for stringent oversight of the auction and encouraged the FCC to require detailed deployment schedules for review to ensure submissions can meet the time frame outlined by the auction.

 Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), Senator John Thune (R-SD), and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) led a bipartisan letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and fellow commissioners regarding implementation of programs to help close the digital divide in rural America. With the recent completion of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, the letter urges the FCC to ensure recipients of broadband deployment funding can deliver on their commitments. In total, 157 Representatives and Senators joined Walberg on the letter.

A variety of lawmakers wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to encourage the FCC to move quickly to clarify rules governing pole attachment regulations in order to remove barriers to broadband deployment: [Sept 2] Reps Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) and Darin LaHood (R-IL),  [Sept 30] Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA), [Oct 15] Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA), [Oct 19] Rep GK Butterfield (D-NC), [Oct 28] Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Environment Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY).

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA-18) and 13 members of California’s congressional delegation sent a letter to Attorney General-designate Merrick Garland urging him to withdraw the US federal government’s lawsuit against the State of California over its net neutrality law as one of the first actions after the inauguration. “With the new Administration, we have an opportunity to restore the damage the Trump FCC has done to the free and open internet in the last four years,” said Rep.

House  Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr.