Senator Young, colleagues request removal of extraneous Biden-era regulations on broadband program

U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) joined Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) in sending a letter to Howard Lutnick, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, requesting the removal of extraneous Biden-era regulations as Secretary Lutnick conducts his review of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which is aimed at expanding internet access to Americans in rural areas and other unserved communities.

“As you may be aware, Republican senators have previously raised concerns with the Biden administration’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and its implementation of the BEAD program,” the senators wrote. “Specifically, NTIA ignored congressional direction and acted inconsistently with its statutory authority in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), filling the program with onerous regulations that prevented the quick, efficient deployment of broadband and resulted in not a single household being connected to the internet.”

“Under your leadership, the BEAD program can finally fulfill its long overdue mission and ensure taxpayer dollars are not spent funding extraneous, burdensome regulations,” the senators continued. “Eliminating these obstacles will empower states to work closely with broadband providers and accelerate deployment, maximize resources, and reach truly unserved and underserved communities without any more delay caused by unnecessary government interference.”

The letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.).

Full text of the letter can be found here and below:

Dear Secretary Lutnick:

We write to thank you for committing to a rigorous review of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.  As you may be aware, Republican senators have previously raised concerns with the Biden administration’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and its implementation of the BEAD program.  Specifically, NTIA ignored congressional direction and acted inconsistently with its statutory authority in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), filling the program with onerous regulations that prevented the quick, efficient deployment of broadband and resulted in not a single household being connected to the internet.  Therefore, we urge you to remove the Biden-era extraneous regulations as you review the BEAD program to ensure the responsible and effective use of taxpayer dollars.

In particular, we encourage you to remove the BEAD program’s restrictive labor requirements that disadvantage rural communities, provisions favoring government-owned networks over private investment, and guidelines that prioritize certain technologies over others and clearly contradict congressional pursuit of tech-neutrality.

Furthermore, despite the IIJA’s explicit prohibition on broadband rate regulation, NTIA exceeded its statutory authority and attempted to enact rate regulations anyway.  The inclusion of climate change mandates further diverted funds and focus away from the program’s primary objective of ensuring broadband access for unserved and underserved communities.  These unnecessary bureaucratic barriers slow deployment, increase costs, and ultimately run contrary to the very purpose of the program and should also be removed.  Even the former Director of the BEAD program recently admitted that many of these woke requirements were “inserted by the prior administration for messaging/political purposes” and “never central to the mission of the program.”

Under your leadership, the BEAD program can finally fulfill its long overdue mission and ensure taxpayer dollars are not spent funding extraneous, burdensome regulations.  Eliminating these obstacles will empower states to work closely with broadband providers and accelerate deployment, maximize resources, and reach truly unserved and underserved communities without any more delay caused by unnecessary government interference.

Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.  We appreciate your leadership in reviewing and addressing these concerns, and we look forward to working with you.