US Senate

Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep Mondaire Jones (D-NY) introduced bicameral legislation to help stomp out rampant industry consolidation that allows companies to raise consumer prices and mistreat workers. The Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act would ban the biggest, most anticompetitive mergers and give the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the teeth to reject deals in the first instance without court orders and to break up harmful mergers. The bill would:

Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) urged the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) to conduct an oversight review into pandemic-related spending to ensure broadband funds were used appropriately for assisting unserved communities and those economically affected by the pandemic. In response to the need for broadband amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress created multiple broadband accessibility programs that allocated billions of dollars to assist Americans in their participation in remote activities.

Sens John Cornyn (R-TX) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Safely Accessing Telecommunications (SAT) Act, which would authorize the US State Department and Department of Defense to enter into contracts with satellite cellular and internet providers to provide direct connectivity in conflict regions. The SAT Act would:

"As the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) takes significant steps to close the digital divide and bring broadband to more Americans under the bipartisan infrastructure law, we write to encourage the Agency to prioritize and protect competition, high quality jobs, affordability, and consumer protection standards in its grant programs," said Sens Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ed Markey (D-MA) in a letter to NTIA Assistant Secretary Alan Davidson. Regarding the broadband programs created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the senators urge the NTIA to:

Sens Roger Wicker, (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel requesting information on future spectrum auction opportunities and policy reforms that can be made to auction rules to promote international competitiveness, maximize spectrum use efficiency, and foster the rapid deployment of next-generation technologies. The FCC’s statutory authority to conduct spectrum auctions is set to expire later in 2022, absent Congressional action.

The Office of US Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) hosted Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque for a roundtable discussion with the Connect New Mexico Council on investments for broadband and telecommunications made possible by the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Senator Luján fought to expand the Affordable Connectivity Benefit which makes broadband more affordable for 785,000 New Mexicans, in addition to at least $100 million that New Mexico is expected to receive for broadband buildout.