Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2025 National Telecommunications and Information Administration Budget

On May 15, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing titled “The Fiscal Year 2025 National Telecommunications and Information Administration Budget.” House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Alan Davidson all delivered remarks. Assistant Secretary Davidson said that since his last appearance before the committee in December 2023, NTIA has made great strides in the initiatives Congress has tasked it with, including "Connecting everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service, no matter where they live; Maintaining American leadership in wireless innovation; and Developing policies that will make for a better Internet – one that offers privacy, security, openness, trust and safety." Chair Latta expressed concern about the timeline for the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, saying, “I hope NTIA will not miss the statutory timeline for this program. It is essential for you to work diligently to keep this program on track to close the digital divide." Meanwhile, Chair Rodgers expressed concern that NTIA is pushing states to include rate regulation in BEAD proposals, saying, "we continue to hear from states that NTIA is pushing them to include rate regulated options in their initial proposals for BEAD funding, which completely violates the intent of the law."