US Senate

Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the bipartisan Accelerating Connected Care and Education Support Services on the Internet (ACCESS the Internet) Act to expand reliable broadband access for education and telehealth appointments for rural America during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ACCESS the Internet Act provides funding for the Education Stabilization Fund, hotspots through libraries, and telehealth services through the Federal Communications Commission and US Dept of Veterans Affairs.

On the Senate Floor, Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) spoke about the impact that the lack of access to broadband is having on Americans during the coronavirus pandemic – particularly students and low-income families – and the critical need to bring high-speed internet to every family, regardless of their zip code. 

Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced two bills addressing broadband issues facing many in our country: The Connecting Minority Communities Act and the Governors Broadband Development Fund.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) announced he has placed a hold on the nomination of Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O'Rielly for another term until Commissioner O’Rielly publically commits to vote to overturn the current Ligado Order. Chairman Inhofe said, "Over the past few months, I have sent letters, held hearings and called countless officials to highlight what we all know to be true: the FCC’s Ligado Order is flawed and will lead to significant harm to our military and the thousands of individuals and businesses that rely on GPS.

Sen Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced he will introduce the Behavioral Advertising Decisions Are Downgrading Services (BAD ADS) Act, a bill to remove Section 230 immunity from Big Tech companies that display manipulative, behavioral ads or provide data to be used for them. Sen Hawley’s bill would crack down on behavioral advertising’s negative effects, which include invasive data collection and user manipulation through design choices.

Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) introduced legislation to immediately fund broadband deployment in unserved and rural areas. The Developing Economic Prosperity and Linking Our Youth through (DEPLOY) Broadband Act will appropriate $6.5 billion to the Federal Communications Commission for broadband buildout in unserved areas. It also permanently establishes a minimum 10 percent rural dividend for future spectrum auctions and ensures that funding cannot be combined with any other funds at the FCC.