Rep Greg Walden (R-OR)

House Commerce GOP Leaders Request Audit on Rural Broadband Pilot Program

House Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH), and Republican subcommittee members wrote to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an audit of and asking several questions about the Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program within the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA). The representatives say they have concerns about overbuilding, interagency coordination, and the mismanagement of appropriated funds.

Committee Leaders Urge FCC to Assist Companies Replacing Suspect Network Equipment

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai today urging him to assist companies as they prepare and plan to replace suspect network equipment, including companies eligible for reimbursement under the Secure and Trusted Reimbursement Program. The program was established by Pallone and Walden’s H.R.

Senior Staff Changes for House Commerce Committee Republicans

House Commerce Committee Minority Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) announced that Staff Director Mike Bloomquist has departed the committee for the private sector. Deputy Staff Director and committee veteran Ryan Long will succeed Bloomquist as Staff Director for Committee Republicans, effective immediately. Bloomquist served as Staff Director for Commerce Republicans during the 115th and 116th Congresses.

Reps Walden, Rodgers Question Apple, Google App Store Vetting Practices

Commerce CommitteeRanking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) wrote to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai asking several questions related to the companies’ app stores and processes undertaken to vet applications, particularly for foreign sourcing and potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Rep Walden, Chairman Wicker Release Broadband Connectivity and Digital Equity Framework

House Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) released principles for a legislative framework to expand broadband access and digital opportunity and close the digital divide.

House Commerce Committee Republican Leaders Comment on Ligado

In today’s interconnected world, making spectrum available for the private sector to deploy and advance new technologies will not only benefit American consumers, but will also allow our nation to continue to lead on the global stage in 5G and Internet of Things. After hearing from many stakeholders, the FCC made its decision to grant Ligado’s application. This application has been tested, reviewed, revised, and tested again.

Real net neutrality is bipartisan -- Save the Internet Act is not

Democrats believe that net neutrality can only be achieved by regulating the Internet as if it were a utility under Title II of the Communications Act, which was originally used to govern monopoly telephone companies in the 1930s. The “Save the Net Act” imposes the heavy hand of Washington’s regulatory bureaucracy over the single most important driver of economic growth, job creation, and a better quality of life for all Americans.