Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA)

Top Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr condemning his ongoing attempts to chill speech and weaponize the agency against any criticism of President Trump—including Chairman Carr’s recent, unprecedented order requiring that Disney and its eight broadcast stations file to renew their licenses early, years ahead of their original schedule.

House Commerce Committee Democratic leaders wrote a follow-up letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration demanding that it abide by the law and disperse Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program funding as intended by Congress—after not receiving any response to an initial letter 

Sens Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Reps Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Doris Matsui (D-CA) sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission requesting a briefing to provide insight on the implementation of Congress’s universal service directives and help inform the Universal Service Fund Working Group’s leadership to modernise the Universal Service Fund. The lawmakers request a staff-level briefing covering: 

We write to express our significant concerns with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) implementation of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program under the Trump Administration. It is evident that NTIA's implementation of the BEAD Program violates the letter of the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act] and ignores the intent of Congress, jeopardizing the bipartisan goal of delivering fast, reliable, and affordable internet to everyone in America.

Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA-07) led a group of 22 lawmakers in a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, expressing deep concerns regarding the recent restructuring of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. The lawmakers assert that, with the BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice, Secretary Lutnick has mischaracterized the program for political purposes and disregarded congressional intent.

The House of Representatives passed the Future Uses of Technology Upholding Reliable and Enhanced (FUTURE) Networks Act (H.R. 1513), legislation that directs the Federal Communications Commission to bring together industry leaders, public interest groups and government experts to establish a 6G Task Force. Specifically, the FUTURE Networks Act requires the FCC to establish a 6G Task Force comprised of industry, government, and public interest representatives to issue a report on:

We write in support of your ongoing focus on internet affordability as you work to administer the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program enacted in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  For years, Democrats and Republicans expressed concern over the digital divide, and the $42 billion investment in the BEAD Program gives us a real opportunity to finally bridge this divide and connect every American to high-speed, reliable, and affordable internet.

House Commerce Committee leadership commended the passage on February 28th, 2023 on the House floor of H.R. 1108, a bill to extend the Federal Communication Commission auction authority deadline to May 19, 2023. The bill was sponsored by Reps. Cathy Rodgers (R-WA) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ). “Spectrum policy is national security policy.

Sen Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA) led Sens Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) to introduce the Digital Equity Foundation Act, legislation to establish a nonprofit foundation to leverage public and private investments to make progress closing the divide on digital equity, digital inclusion, and digital literacy.

Reps Anna G Eshoo (D-CA) and Doris Matsui (D-CA) led a letter to Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Secretary Jennifer Granholm, and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information at the National Telecommunications and Information (NTIA) Alan Davidson, urging them to use funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to build out broadband and electric vehicle charging infrastructure simultaneously.