Remarks of Assistant Secretary Arielle Roth at the Free State Foundation Luncheon

Under Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s leadership, our Benefit of the Bargain reforms restored the program to its statutory objective: universal connectivity delivered through competition, accountability, and respect for the law.  The result has been lower costs for taxpayers, real skin in the game for providers, and faster broadband access for consumers. States, freed from unlawful one-size-fits-all mandates, could evaluate projects on a granular basis and select those that truly fit their needs. Indeed, our results show huge diversity in state technology mixes—both within and across states—reflecting the realities of our country’s geographic, topographic, and population density differences, as well as our guiding principle of market-driven technological innovation.  Today, we’ll be posting state-by-state data on technology selections, costs, and average match amounts on NTIA’s website, so you can see how each state applied our rules to its specific on-the-ground circumstances—with states like Rhode Island leaning more on fiber, others like Nebraska leaning more on fixed wireless, and some like Montana leaning more on satellite. Today, we are adding 9 more to the list: South Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. We estimate the Benefit of the Bargain savings will ultimately reach $21 billion. Naturally, the million dollar—or rather, $21 billion—question is: how will we use these savings? First and foremost, these dollars belong to the American people, and they should reap the benefit. We didn’t work as hard as we did just to spend the savings wastefully; any spending must produce real, measurable value—not duplicate investment the private sector is already making. Second, and just as importantly, we must avoid actions that distort investment or stifle innovation. Our approach to the BEAD savings will complement the program and reflect the same principles that made the reforms successful.  We haven’t made any decisions yet but stay tuned.  We’ll have much more to share in early 2026.