Gov performance

 Sens Roger Wicker (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD) introduced the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Reauthorization and Reform Act (S.3288). The NTIA Reauthorization and Reform Act would:

This Task Force seeks to address the digital divide with recommendations that will advise the federal government on ways it can improve access, specifically on rural, agricultural lands. Broadband is the foundational element for all other issues. The recommendations fall largely within five primary categories with some additional key considerations. The five main priorities that the Task Force recommends are to:

The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an advisory raising concerns with respect to Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program enrollments based on the USDA National School Lunch Program’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Households with a student enrolled in a school or school district participating in the CEP can qualify for the EBB Program.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent letters to 20 senators on November 10, 2021, in response to their letter urging the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the FCC to share existing data to identify communities without high-speed internet access and improve broadband connectivity.

House Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH) sent a letter to Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Subcommittee Chairman Michael Doyle (D-PA) urging them to hold a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing to address the unprecedented influx of funding to the commission. Democrats provided an additional $25 billion to the FCC through their partisan American Rescue Plan and infrastructure packages and want to give the agency more funds in another partisan Reconciliat

The share of U.S. adults using the internet has not grown significantly since 2013, according to the Pew Research Center. It’s a trend reflected in rural broadband subscription rates that continue to lag significantly behind rates in urban areas. The gigabit elephant in the room is the ridiculous amount we spend for broadband relative to the quality of services communities, especially rural areas, get. Federal agencies have been spending $6 billion per year since 2009 for rural broadband.

The House Commerce Committee passed 12 bipartisan bills on November 17, 2021. The Committee passed the following telecommunications bills:

President Biden signed Congress's $1.2 trillion infrastructure package into law, including a whopping $65 billion to expand broadband access. Now, it's up to federal agencies, states and civil society groups to implement it. The bill prioritized broadband projects that target unserved communities — as laid out in the bill, that means communities that either have no broadband access or lack sufficient speeds.

Having waited patiently for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, now people want to know what happens next—when will we all get our broadband? For now, the action shifts from Congress to key federal agencies that will implement the broadband provisions of the new law.

On November 15, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal into law–historic legislation to rebuild crumbling infrastructure, create good-paying jobs, and grow the economy. To coordinate the law's effective implementation, President Biden signed an Executive Order outlining the Administration's implementation priorities and establishing an Infrastructure Implementation Task Force. The Executive Order lays out six main priorities to guide implementation across the Federal government.