Communications & Technology

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing titled Examining Solutions to Expedite Broadband Permitting . Subcommittee Chairman Hudson’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:  “Closing the digital divide has long been a bipartisan priority for this subcommittee. Under both Republican and Democratic majorities, we have discussed and found ways to ensure that every American has access to high-speed broadband. Today, we have the opportunity to achieve this goal with the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.   “I think members of both parties would agree that BEAD has not gone as we had hoped. After almost four years, not a single home has been connected. Some in my party want to completely scrap BEAD and start over because of how the previous Administration ran the program. But that is not my view. My goal has been to fix the program so that we can deploy broadband quickly. The name of my bill, the SPEED for BEAD Act, reflects this.    “I am pleased that many of my proposed reforms have been adopted by the Trump Administration and that they are working quickly to review and approve state proposals.    “Still, money alone will not close the digital divide. Burdensome, opaque, and expensive permitting reviews that exist at every level of government continue to prevent or delay deployment. I have heard this from broadband providers across the country.   “In my home state of North Carolina, one provider has waited over a year for the Department of the Interior to review its application to build on federal land—even though the agency is required to provide a response within 270 days.    “Another North Carolina provider’s project was delayed because it has to do a historic preservation review despite the fact that it was on previously disturbed terrain that likely already had a review. And this is in addition to lengthy state and local application reviews that can include excessive costs unrelated to approving the permit.    “Unless we streamline the permitting process, all of the money we have dedicated to deployment will be tied up in burdensome reviews resulting in more unnecessary delays, forcing millions of Americans to continue to wait for connectivity.   “Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans are committed to reforming this process. For the past three Congresses, we have introduced a package of bills to address this problem. Each of these bills tackles an obstacle that has either prevented, delayed, or complicated deployment, with the goal of instilling certainty, predictability, and savings into this process.  “For example, my RAPID Act would exempt small cell wireless antennas from burdensome and expensive environmental and historic preservation reviews, as well as reform the Tribal notification process to expedite wireless broadband deployment. I look forward to the discussion today to find the best path forward together.  “Some of these bills passed the House last Congress with bipartisan support. I hope we can pass those bills, as well as the others, into law this Congress. Enacting this package will make deploying broadband cheaper, more predictable, and less burdensome, ultimately connecting more Americans.  “I want to acknowledge our partners at the Federal Communications Commission for their work on this issue. Under then-Chairman Ajit Pai, the FCC used its authorities to remove state and local obstacles to deployment, implement shot clocks, and cap fees where they can. That work is continuing under Chairman Brendan Carr, as they will seek comment later this month on additional proposals. We are grateful for this work and, through these bills, hope to codify and build on what they have done.  “I hope that instead of playing the blame game today, we can focus on making sure every American has access to the broadband service that is essential to life in the 21st Century. We have an esteemed panel of witnesses with us today, all of whom have experience with the challenges of deploying broadband. I look forward to hearing from them and I look forward to this discussion.”  ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, led a hearing titled Examining Solutions to Expedite Broadband Permitting . “Closing the digital divide has long been a bipartisan goal. But after four years and $42 billion, not a single home has been connected through BEAD,” said Chairman Hudson. “My priority is to fix this program, cut red tape, and speed deployment so families in North Carolina and across America can finally get the broadband they deserve. Money alone will not solve this problem. We must streamline the permitting process and remove unnecessary delays so communities can get connected faster.” Watch the full hearing here . Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing: Subcommittee Vice Chairman Rick Allen (GA-12): “How does streamlining broadband permitting help us to stay ahead of global competitors?” Mr. Spalter: “It tries to even the playing field. Let’s be clear about what’s going on today in the world. In China, in 2025, it is expected that there will be $100 billion of [capital expenditure] invested. [...] Unless and until we have the guile and the focus to be able to move aggressively, to streamline and make more logical our own permitting systems so that we can truncate the time from application to approval, we are going to fall behind in the AI race, and we can’t let that happen.” Congressman Russ Fulcher (ID-01): “In my home state of Idaho, Cambridge Telephone Company tells me that they have projects that still take somewhere between two and four years to get through permitting. [...] In Midvale, Idaho, MTE communications had a project stall due the need for multiple NEPA studies, and that was simply because they were trying to run a conduit and a fiber cable about 100 feet from a roadway on federal land.” Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (ND-AL): “We have made leaps and bounds in the technology since the days of old AOL dial tone for internet connection. We’ve got 5G. We’ve got so many advances, but our permitting process is still stuck in the old, AOL dial tone kind of mentality. We’re so stuck in that, and we have to bring our permitting processes up to the modern age and to meet the demands of the time that we’re in right now where we need to get this infrastructure out quickly.” ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – This week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce is holding four Subcommittee Hearings and one Full Committee Markup. Read more below. SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy is holding a hearing to discuss building and appliance policies that could strengthen consumer choice, lower costs for American families, and make our electric grid more reliable. DATE: Tuesday, September 16, 2025  TIME: 10:15 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment is holding a hearing to discuss permitting reform under the Clean Air Act. DATE: Tuesday, September 16, 2025  TIME: 2:00 PM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP: The Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a markup of seven bills. DATE: Wednesday, September 17, 2025  TIME: 10:00 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Heath is holding a hearing to discuss legislation that improves seniors’ access to cutting-edge health innovation. DATE: Thursday, September 18, 2025  TIME: 9:30 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology is holding a hearing to discuss permitting reform for enhanced connectivity. DATE: Thursday, September 18, 2025  TIME: 2:00 PM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building  ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump urging the administration to quickly remove burdensome regulations that have stopped the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program from connecting any American to reliable broadband. KEY EXCERPT: “The Biden administration added unnecessary and burdensome requirements that made participation in the program more expensive and less attractive to broadband providers. These include labor and climate change requirements, as well as rate regulation of low-cost broadband plans that were unlawfully imposed.  “To address these issues, we introduced the Streamlining Program Efficiency and Expanding Deployment (SPEED) for BEAD Act, which outlines necessary reforms to BEAD. We appreciate that Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is undertaking a review of the program and urge any reforms to be enacted as soon as possible.” BACKGROUND: On March 5, 2025,  Congressman Hudson introduced  the SPEED for BEAD Act to remove harmful regulations that have prevented the $42 billion program from laying even a single inch of fiber to support rural Americans. Also on March 5, 2025, the Committee on Energy and Commerce  held a hearing  to discuss the BEAD program titled  Fixing Biden’s Broadband Blunder. CLICK HERE to read the full letter. ###

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) today sent letters to five independent federal agencies urging the Biden-Harris administration appointees to abandon partisan efforts and instead focus remaining efforts on bipartisan, consensus items.   The letters state, “The results of the 2024 presidential election are now apparent and leadership of the [agency] will soon change. As a traditional part of the peaceful transfer of power, the [agency] should immediately stop work on any partisan or controversial item under consideration, consistent with applicable law and regulation.”    Click below to read each agency’s letter:   Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Federal Communications Commission (FCC)   Federal Trade Commission (FTC)   Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)   Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Note: In the letter, Chair Rodgers urges NRC to continue timely implementation of the ADVANCE Act. 

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), as well as Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-OH) and Ranking Member Doris Matsui (D-CA),  sent letter s to AT&T , Verizon , and Lumen demanding answers and requesting a briefing following breaches of their communications networks by hackers tied to the Chinese government. Reporting from the  Wall Street Journal  revealed the cyberattack was focused on intelligence collection and may have accessed U.S. wiretapping requests.  KEY LETTER QUOTE :   “We are concerned by the recent reports of a massive breach of AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen’s communications networks by Chinese hackers. These types of breaches are increasing in frequency and severity, and there is a growing concern regarding the cybersecurity vulnerabilities embedded in U.S. telecommunications networks. The Committee needs to understand better how this incident occurred and what steps your company is taking to prevent future service disruptions and secure your customers’ data.” BACKGROUND :   On October 5th,  The Wall Street Journal  reported U.S. broadband providers were breached by a Chinese government-tied hacker organization. The attack appears to be geared towards intelligence collection, and Chinese hackers potentially accessed vulnerable information, including court-authorized network wiretapping requests and internet traffic. AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen are among the U.S. broadband providers breached. According to the  Wall Street Journal , “The widespread compromise is considered a potentially catastrophic security breach and was carried out by a sophisticated Chinese hacking group dubbed Salt Typhoon.” CLICK HERE to read the letter to AT&T. CLICK HERE to read the letter to Verizon. CLICK HERE to read the letter to Lumen.