What's on the agenda for policymakers.
Agenda
The E-Rate program has connected virtually every school and library in America to broadband, growing classroom internet access from just 14% in 1996 to near-universal today. But for the first time in the program’s nearly 30-year history, the FCC is asking whether E-Rate should be terminated.
Witnesses
Commissioner Dan Watermeier, Nebraska Public Service Commission
Jonathan Spalter, President and Chief Executive Officer, USTelecom—The Broadband Association
Bob Everson, Chief Architect of Provider Mobility, Cisco
BEAD is failing rural America. Let’s fix it now.
Broadband programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration have supported the construction of broadband networks in some of the most expensive-to-reach rural areas. NTIA’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program is one of the largest federal broadband programs to date.
President Trump Nominates FCC General Counsel Adam Candeub to be an Assistant Attorney General
President Donald Trump nominated D. Adam Candeub, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Attorney General. Candeub has served as the General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission since January 2025. Since 2004, Candeub worked as a professor of law at Michigan State University where he focused on competition, regulatory, and antitrust matters. Previously, he served in government at both the Commerce Department and Justice Department.
FCC to Begin Review of Rural Health Care Program
On July 16, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) and Order in its long-running Promoting Telehealth in Rural America proceeding (WC Docket No.
Google Is Building an A.I. Fence Around the Internet It Once Championed
When Google prepared to go public in 2004, Larry Page, a co-founder of the company, wrote a letter to shareholders describing the internet firm’s responsibility to the world. “We believe a well-functioning society should have abundant, free and unbiased access to high-quality information,” Page said. Google fulfilled that responsibility by acting as a gateway to the internet.
Republican Witnesses
- Mr. Ajikumar Parayil, Founder and CEO, Manus Bio, Boston, Massachusetts
- Mr. Brad Edenfield, Farmer and General Manager, RT Farms Inc., Burke County, Georgia
- Dr. Jeffery Talbert, Professor and Department Chair in AI and Health, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, Department of Artificial Intelligence and Health, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia
The FCC Proposes an Overhaul of How the Universal Service Fund Is Run
If you are a school or library seeking E-Rate discounts, a rural health care provider, a Lifeline provider serving low-income households, or a carrier deploying networks with high-cost support, you deal with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)—the private, not-for-profit corporation that administers the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF).
FCC's 2027 Performance Plan Doubles Down on 'Build America'
Every year, the Federal Communications Commission releases an annual performance plan that outlines the FCC's agenda and the goals it seeks to achieve. On July 6, the FCC released its Agency Performance Plan for Fiscal Year 2027, which provides the public with a general outline of what the agency is prioritizing in the near future—and what it is not.