C&T Subcommittee: Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission
House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
2026-01-14
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Source: Congress.gov
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Transcript
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The Honorable Brendan Carr
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The Honorable Anna Gomez
Look forward to your testimony today. And I want to extend a special welcome, or should I say welcome back, or maybe even welcome home, to Commissioner Olivia Trustee. Congratulations on your confirmation and Welcome to your first oversight hearing in your old stomping grounds here at the Energy and Commerce.
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The Honorable Brendan Carr
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The Honorable Brendan Carr
The FCC had an active 2025 that can be summed up in one word, deregulation. Under Chairman Carr, the FCC has taken significant steps to reduce barriers to broadband deployment, modernize outdated regulatory regimes, and delete obsolete rules. These efforts include preempting state and local barriers to wireless infrastructure deployment, which I appreciate, as some of you all have heard me talk about. I'm too familiar with calls dropping too often when I'm driving around my own district. Reforming the satellite licensing process and ensuring the next generation 911 networks are reliable and interoperable. Another issue that I've made a top priority of mine over the years. And Chairman, I want to say thank you that the first official trip you took as chairman was to Western North Carolina to look at Hurricane Helene impacts on our communications network. So I appreciate the priority you've put on this issue. Together, these efforts will accelerate closing the digital divide, unleash the new space economy, and strengthen America's wireless leadership. I applaud the FCC for this great work. The FCC still has significant work ahead, including modernizing outdated media ownership rules. Last year, I led a bipartisan letter with more than 70 members of Congress urging the Commission to revisit its broadcast ownership caps. Local broadcasters remain the most trusted sources of news for most Americans, yet they now compete with an uneven marketplace shaped by well-resourced new entrants, most notably big tech. Burdened by outdated regulations, local broadcasters are increasingly unable to compete, a reality reflected in newsroom closures and the growing concentration of influence among national networks and social media platforms. Current ownership caps prevent broadcasters from combining or expanding operations, constraining their ability to invest in local journalism. Updating these caps would help ensure broadcasters remain viable and competitive without creating monopolies.
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The Honorable Brendan Carr
It would empower local stations to better compete against dominant platforms. I urge the commission to keep these realities in mind as you continue your deregulatory agenda. A huge accomplishment this year was the Working Families Tax Cut Act, direction to the FCC to auction 800 megahertz of spectrum for commercial use. Making the spectrum available is essential to America's leadership in 5G and 6G. I'm pleased that the agency has already begun this work by identifying at least 100 megahertz for auction in the upper C band. As the agency looks for remaining spectrum, both on its own and in coordination with others, I know you have important decisions to make, and I urge the FCC to be mindful of investment that has already taken place in existing commercial bands, such as the 6 gigahertz band and the CBRS band. The proposal your agenda laid out this month to expand unlicensed operations in the 6G band is a great first step. Finally, I'm a member of the Bipartisan Bicameral Universal Services Fund Working Group. USF, overseen by the FCC, helps support broadband access to high-cost rural areas, to schools and libraries, rural health centers, and low-income households.
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