US Senate

Sens Edward Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led a group of twelve Senators in urging the Federal Communications Commission to protect the E-Rate Program. They wrote, "E-Rate helps schools and libraries in every state by supporting access to modern communications and the Internet. Such access is critical if we are a country that is serious about preparing and educating our children for the digital age. The simple truth is that E-Rate has been nothing but extremely successful in helping schools and libraries in all 50 states have access to vital funding that ensures that kids in schools and libraries have high-speed Internet access and wireless connectivity. Your actions threaten to roll back progress made in all of these states and disrupt schools and libraries’ carefully planned multi-year budgets. Accordingly, we call on you to guarantee that this treasured program will not be undermined in any way under your watch.”

Sens Tom Udall (D-NM), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Gary Peters (D-MI), Al Franken (D-MN), Jeffery Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Bob Casey (D-PN) signed the letter.

Sen Angus King (I-ME) led five of his colleagues, including Sen Susan Collins (R-ME), in sending a bipartisan letter calling on the Federal Communications Commission to work to avoid cuts or spending reductions to the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program, which helps deliver vital health care services and telemedicine to people who live in rural areas by providing funding for broadband. The letter specifically calls on the FCC to act on the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition’s recently filed letter, which recommends funding mechanisms that would avoid service disruptions to patients and health clinics in rural areas.

“We ask you to address the future of the RHC as soon as possible. The Commission can and should take steps to avoid flash cuts or sudden funding reductions for health care providers that use this vital program. […] Because previously committed funds have already been collected, re-allocation of these funds will not require increased universal service fund collections. The Commission could take such action immediately on an interim basis to ensure that health care providers and consortia do not face funding reductions, thereby giving the Commission time to work on strengthening the future of the RHC program," the letter read.

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) released the following statement about efforts to undo the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband privacy rules by utilizing the Congressional Review Act: "Big broadband companies want to mine and sell consumers’ most sensitive personal information without any consent. Overturning broadband privacy protections is nothing more than Big Broadband’s way of pumping up its profits and undermining consumer rights. Without the FCC’s broadband privacy rule, broadband providers will be able to sell dossiers of the personal and professional lives of their subscribers to the highest bidder without their consent. I will oppose any efforts to roll back important broadband privacy rules either by Congress or at the FCC.”

Sens Angus King (I-ME), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), John Boozman (R-AR), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the co-chairs of the Senate Broadband Caucus, led 48 senators in urging President Donald Trump to include broadband in any infrastructure initiative he puts forward.

They wrote, "As you work with Congress to address the infrastructure needs of our country, we urge you to prioritize policies as part of any infrastructure initiative that will promote deployment of high-speed, reliable broadband for all Americans. Expanding access to broadband, both rural and urban, is the infrastructure challenge of our generation and we cannot afford to wait to make progress on this important goal...A broad agenda to promote broadband access will empower Americans living in every community – from urban city centers to rural towns – with economic opportunities that will jumpstart growth in jobs and wages....This effort should include bringing broadband connections to locations where economic conditions or geography have made deployment difficult and improving the quality and affordability of existing broadband connections."

Sen Al Franken (D-MN) put the pressure on new Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to join the fight to preserve network neutrality, the long-standing principle that the internet is and must remain an open and level playing field for every American consumer and business.

Sen Franken wrote, "As Chairman, you have an obligation to protect Americans' access to diverse information sources and to ensure that the internet remains a tool for American innovation, economic growth, and public discourse. I have no doubt that you recognize the significance of your new role, but your stated opposition to strong net neutrality rules raises serious concerns about your commitment to honoring the First Amendment. Allowing giant corporations to pick and choose the content available to everyday Americans would threaten the basic principles of our democracy. I urge you to protect freedom of speech by maintaining and enforcing the Open Internet Order."

Sen Tom Udall (D-NM) called on the Federal Communications Commission to do more to ensure all students in New Mexico and across the country have equal access to the Internet for educational and economic opportunity. Specifically, Sen Udall wrote in a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the FCC should extend the successful E-rate program, which pays for Internet access in schools, and provide Wi-Fi on school buses so students can have more time to do their homework.

While the E-Rate program has helped ensure schools are equipped with broadband Internet, a third of New Mexico households - and homes across the country - still lack access, either because families can't afford it or because it simply isn't available. But with seven in 10 teachers nationwide assigning homework that requires Internet access, students without access at home are now at an unfair disadvantage to their peers. "Broadband should help create educational opportunities for these children, not a new barrier to their success at school," Sen Udall wrote to Chairman Wheeler.

Sens Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and John Boozman (R-AR) are joining together to launch the Senate Broadband Caucus.

As internet access plays an increasingly important role in all sectors of our economy, from education to agriculture, telemedicine to the innovation economy, the Senate Broadband Caucus will serve as a platform to engage in discussions across Committee jurisdictions and to inform Senators and their staff about emerging broadband issues. The caucus will focus on strengthening broadband infrastructure and deployment across the country. The caucus will address broadband challenges facing Americans, promote bipartisan discussions about possible solutions to increase connectivity and close the digital divide, especially in rural America, and engage with a broad range of industries and other stakeholders. The economic benefits of broadband infrastructure are clear. For every $5 billion invested in broadband infrastructure, 250,000 jobs are created and with every percentage point increase in new broadband distribution, employment expands by 300,000 jobs. Yet, according to the FCC’s 2016 Broadband Progress Report, one in ten Americans lacks access to the FCC’s definition of broadband. In rural America, 39 percent of Americans lack access. A recent study found that after each megabit per second increase in internet speeds, the unemployment rate dropped, the rate of bachelor degrees earned increased, and the median household income increased. In rural areas, where broadband serves to bridge geographic barriers, these benefits are particularly important.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced legislation that would restore Americans’ privacy rights by ending the government’s dragnet collection of phone records and requiring greater oversight, transparency, and accountability with respect to domestic surveillance authorities.

The updated version of the USA FREEDOM Act builds on legislation passed in the House in May, as well as the original legislation Sen Leahy introduced with Rep Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) in October 2013. The legislation bans bulk collection under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and other surveillance authorities, requires the government to narrow the scope of a search to a clearly defined “specific selection term,” adds needed transparency and reporting requirements, and provides key reforms to the FISA Court.

As part of a torrent of criticism pouring into the Federal Communications Commission, Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) delivered to the FCC nearly 19,000 comments from consumers demanding a free and open Internet.

In advance of a meeting of the FCC, Sen Sanders had invited visitors to use a form on his Senate website to weigh in what the senator called a “terribly misguided” proposal.

Sen Al Franken (D-MN), who recently came out in opposition to Comcast's proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable, continued to raise concerns about its potential impact on consumers.

The deal, he said, could jeopardize the open nature of the Internet by tilting the balance of power from people to huge corporations. In a letter sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Sen Franken called the Internet a place where everyone can participate on equal footing. But, he said, the proposed deal would give Comcast-already the nation's dominant Internet service provider-even more leverage to manipulate Internet traffic to serve its own corporate interests.

"The Internet is an open marketplace where everyone can participate on equal footing, regardless of one's wealth or influence-and I believe that's the way it should be," Sen Franken wrote. "The Internet has been a platform for innovation and economic growth since its inception. It also has connected Americans in unprecedented ways, facilitating the free exchange of information and ideas. Simply put, the Internet belongs to the people, not to huge corporations. Comcast's proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable could disrupt this balance of power, resulting in higher costs and fewer choices for consumers." Later, he added, "I am very concerned that Comcast could use its clout in the broadband market to dictate the content consumers receive and the prices they pay, and these concerns are only intensified by Comcast's proposal to acquire Time Warner Cable."