C&T Subcommittee Markup

House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology

2025-11-18

Loading video...

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The meeting focused on legislative efforts to accelerate broadband deployment and close the digital divide across the United States. Members discussed various proposals aimed at reforming the permitting process for telecommunications infrastructure . A central point of contention revolved around the implementation and impact of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program funding .

Themes

Broadband Permitting Reform

The primary theme was the urgent need for broadband permitting reform to overcome burdensome, opaque, and expensive processes at all levels of government . Proposed solutions included streamlining state and local permitting with clear timelines ("shot clocks") and capping excessive fees . Bills also aimed to exempt certain projects on previously disturbed lands from cumbersome environmental and historic preservation reviews and reduce barriers on federal lands . Specific legislative ideas covered creating digital portals for federal land applications [ 00:43:12-00:43:15 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
, establishing timelines for deployment along railroads , expediting infrastructure replacement in disaster areas , and simplifying the removal of insecure network equipment . However, strong concerns were raised that "shot clocks" could lead to automatic approvals, bypassing essential community input, safety inspections, and tribal historic preservation reviews . Opposition also focused on proposed exemptions to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which some members argued would threaten tribal lands and vulnerable communities .

BEAD Program and Funding Issues

A significant portion of the discussion centered on the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, with many members criticizing the Trump administration for causing "unacceptable delays" in fund disbursement . Concerns were voiced that these delays risk undermining the program's goal to close the digital divide . Specific issues highlighted included the NTIA's new policy requiring states to prioritize the cheapest bids regardless of quality, rescinding non-deployment funds, and pressuring states to abandon net neutrality protections as a condition for funding . Some members argued that BEAD funds should be fully released before any new permitting reforms take effect to avoid further complications . Conversely, others stated that BEAD funds are now being disbursed, and new efficiencies are saving billions of taxpayer dollars .

Bridging the Digital Divide and Affordability

A shared objective across the committee was the commitment to closing the digital divide . Members emphasized that reliable, high-speed broadband is essential for education, healthcare, employment, and overall connectivity [ 00:23:45-00:23:57 ] . The discussion highlighted that many Americans, particularly in rural and underserved areas, still lack access to affordable internet . Permitting reform was presented as a critical component to achieving universal connectivity and affordability, with the added benefit of supporting advancements like artificial intelligence .

Tone of the Meeting

The tone of the meeting was largely divided, oscillating between declared bipartisanship and significant partisan disagreement . While some members emphasized a common goal to connect all Americans , Democratic members frequently expressed frustration and skepticism about Republican proposals, particularly regarding the perceived delays and changes to the BEAD program by the Trump administration . They accused Republicans of "cherry-picking stories" and "sabotaging" federal broadband funding efforts [ 00:27:04-00:27:04 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
. Republicans, in turn, emphasized the need to move past bureaucratic delays and implement efficient reforms to utilize allocated funds . A sense of urgency to close the digital divide was shared, but the proposed methods to achieve this were met with sharp ideological differences, leading to frequent critical exchanges about the motivations and impacts of the legislative items .

Participants

Transcript

has access to reliable, high-speed broadband.  Work, education, our health care, even check-ins from faraway loved ones require a broadband connection.  Yet too many Americans still lack access to the essential services from the mountains of North Carolina to the military base at Fort Bragg in my district.  Reaching those final unserved and underserved Americans requires funding.  It also requires permitting reform.   Often broadband deployment is prevented or delayed because of burdensome, opaque, and expensive permitting processes that exist at every level of government, federal, state, and local.  These unnecessary obstacles not only increase cost for deployment, but they also delay progress for communities that have already waited, frankly, too long.  We need to address these challenges if we hope to close the digital divide once and for all.  The legislation we're marking up today   does just that.  First, we streamline the state and local permitting process by implementing clear timelines or shot clocks on application reviews and capping excessive fees.  Next, we exempt certain projects, mostly those on previously disturbed lands, from having to perform cumbersome and duplicative environmental and historic preservation reviews.  Finally, we reduce barriers to deployment on federal lands and increase coordination among different federal agencies.   Together, these reforms will add much-needed certainty, predictability, and accountability to the broadband permitting process and help expedite deployment.  Many of these ideas are not new.  In fact, some have already been enacted by the Federal Communications Commission under then-Chairman Ajit Pai, the FCC reforms state and local permitting by implementing shot clocks on reviews, capping fees, and removing other barriers to deployment.  These reforms accelerated the rollout of 5G.   and showed how streamlining this process can make a real difference.
Congress needs to codify and build on these reforms so they last.  We're on the verge of closing the digital divide and need to act now.  After four years of delays caused by the Biden-Harris administration, deployment will soon begin through the 42.45 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment, or BEAD, program.  But for these programs to succeed, permitting reform is essential.   Otherwise, all this money will be tied up in further unnecessary reviews and bureaucratic delays.  We cannot let the millions of unserved and underserved Americans continue waiting for the connectivity they need simply because we failed to modernize outdated rules.  Six of the bills we're marking up today are bipartisan.  I'm pleased we found common ground on these reforms and hope we can continue working together to make the remaining bills bipartisan as well.   Closing the digital divide has always been a shared goal of this committee, regardless of which party holds the gavel.  We should not allow red tape and outdated bureaucracy stand between Americans and the connectivity they need to work, to learn, to innovate, and to thrive.  I want to thank my colleagues for their continued commitment to this issue and for their work developing these proposals.  I look forward to moving these bills through the committee and onto the floor so we can deliver results for the American people.  I now recognize the ranking member, the gentlelady from California,
her opening statement thank you mr chairman and welcome back broadband is today's essential service families needed to help their kids learn to keep their jobs and to get care when they're sick so i'm glad we're having this markup today because we have a lot of work to do make to make sure the internet is accessible and affordable to everyone we just went through a shutdown during which we did nothing to address the affordability affordability crisis in america speaker johnson kept us out of session not doing our jobs for remarkable   54 days, all because Republicans refused to even consider extending the ACA's enhanced premium tax credits while families are sharing a skyrocketing health cost.  And President Trump has failed to bring everyday prices down.
Too often, the very people high prices are hurting the most are also the ones still waiting for affordable, reliable broadband.
They can't keep waiting.
As we begin this markup, our job today is clearing real barriers to deployment while preserving safeguards that protect communities.  We can do both.
But to do so, we need to consider the broader context that will shape whether any of this work succeeds.
State broadband offices, local leaders, and providers have been planning projects for years under BEAD and digital equity programs.   Since day one, President Trump has thrown this process into chaos, freezing funds, forcing restarts, and stripping affordability protections, slowing deployment, and keeping costs high.  We are seeing this up close in my district.  California is investing big to close the digital divide, including the $38 million in last-mile funding to Sacramento County alone.   but we still need bead dollars to finish the job.  That includes connecting the dead zones just 20 minutes outside of Sacramento and reaching the dozens of Delta farming communities still waiting for reliable service.  If we move one step forward on permitting while taking two steps back on bead, we won't close the digital divide, we'll widen it.  Despite these concerns, I am encouraged by the bipartisan items before us.   Proposals that are targeted, practical, and consistent with what we've heard from states, localities, and builders.  They make the permitting process more predictable and pushing agencies to coordinate.
Everyone benefits when we make the process more transparent.

Sign up for free to see the full transcript

Accounts help us prevent bots from abusing our site. Accounts are free and will allow you to access the full transcript.

Sign up