Federal Agency

These comments are submitted to emphasize the unprecedented nature of this news distortion proceeding, and to express our strong concern that the Federal Communications Commission may be seeking to censor the news media in a manner antithetical to the First Amendment. The undersigned commenters comprise a bipartisan group of former FCC Chairs and Commissioners.

Missouri was the first state to ask the Federal Communications Commission to return Rural Digital Opportunity Fund broadband funding awarded to providers in the state who later defaulted on their awards.

It was to be one hour of oral arguments about the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Universal Service Fund (USF) program, considering whether Congress delegated too much of its authority when it created the program in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Instead, U.S. Supreme Court justices spent more than two and a half hours peppering attorneys with questions about the nature of USF, whether the statute fails to set limits on the amount of funding it can collect and whether those fees are, in fact, taxes on the American public that Congress never debated.

This country has long valued ensuring connectivity for all—regardless of income, location, or circumstance. The Universal Service Fund or USF has been an essential part of that promise, providing the funding necessary to connect millions of Americans. Whether through a phone line, broadband connection, or both, access to communications has been critical for economic opportunity and equality. When we invest in connectivity, we invest in people. We invest in their futures.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the consolidated cases Nos.

On March 25, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to request that the Department of Defense turn over any Biden-era documents referring to the Federal Communications Commission's spectrum auction authority. In the letter, Sen Cruz details allegations that Biden-era DOD officials pressured defense contractors to lobby against reauthorizing auction authority.

In March 2025, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick launched an effort to change key elements of the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which Congress established in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

In early March, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick proposed changes to a federal broadband connectivity program that would favor Low Earth Orbit satellite connectivity, like Starlink, over fiber optic, a faster and more reliable form of internet access. Critics say Secretary Lutnick’s proposal to prioritize LEO will worsen the digital divide by abandoning rural communities without the long term economic benefits of fiber optic infrastructure.

Seemingly arbitrary decisions and reviews with seemingly pre-determined outcomes left Evan Feinman’s staff ‘constantly concerned,’ said Evan Feinman, the former director of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD). The arbitrary nature of decision-making left former staffers constantly concerned about their jobs. “My really high-talent staff was constantly concerned that they were going to be let go [for] any reason,” Feinman said.

The Trump administration is making changes to the Broadband Equity and Access Deployment Program (BEAD) Program that will benefit satellite internet providers like Elon Musk’s Starlink, but some state and federal officials worry the technology isn’t robust enough to connect Americans on a mass scale and at affordable rates. State and former federal officials, several of whom spoke to Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity, described pitfalls with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s new approach, which gives more opportunities for satellite terminals that are initially inexpensive, but can