Communications & Technology

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, led a markup of several public safety communications bills.

“Our public safety and law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to help us in our times of need, and we must make sure they have the best tools to do their jobs and best serve all Americans,” said Chairman Hudson. “I want to thank my colleagues for their continued commitment to this issue and for their work developing these proposals.”

Legislative Vote Summary:

• H.R. 6505, Next Generation 9-1-1 Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 2076, LuLu’s Law, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 5200, Emergency Reporting Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 5201, Kari’s Law Reporting Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 7022, Mystic Alerts Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 1519, Public Safety Communications Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.

Watch the full hearing here .

Below are key excerpts from today’s markup:

Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01) on the Mystic Alerts Act: “The Mystic Alerts Act strengthens our emergency alerting framework by directing the FCC to establish standards and requirements that allow alerts to be delivered via satellite connectivity, ensuring redundancy when traditional networks are down, by incorporating satellite-based capabilities. This bill helps ensure emergency alerts can reach rural communities, disaster zones and other hard to reach areas, improving resilience and saving lives during floods, wildlife, wildfires, hurricanes and other emergencies. This legislation honors the victims of the Camp Mystic flood by taking meaningful action to prevent similar tragedies and by making our emergency communications system more reliable, modern, and resilient.”

Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) on the Mystic Alerts Act: “Today, too many Americans lose access to alerts when cellular infrastructure is damaged, overwhelmed, or nonexistent—particularly in rural areas—and this bill helps to close that gap by ensuring emergency alerts can still be delivered via satellite when traditional networks fail. […] There is still work to be done to incorporate technical assistance into this legislation, but moving the Mystic Alerts Act forward is a meaningful step toward modernizing public safety communications, closing dangerous gaps in emergency alert coverage, and ensuring Americans can receive critical information when it matters the most.”

Congresswoman Kat Cammack (FL-03) on the Public Safety Communications Act: “This bill strengthens federal coordination for Next Gen 911, ensuring that states have a clear, accountable partner as they modernize their emergency systems. Public safety communications should never be political, fragmented, or unclear. Right now, they are. This bill fixes that. It keeps public safety in charge, reduces confusion and strengthens accountability where it belongs. I appreciate the engagement from our public safety stakeholders and remain committed to the collaboration as we move this bill forward.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, delivered the following opening statement at today’s markup of six bills to improve public safety communications.

Subcommittee Chairman Hudson’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:

“Good morning, and welcome to today’s subcommittee markup on public safety communications in the United States. We are considering several bipartisan bills that will improve public safety and communications for first responders in the United States.

“In December, we held a hearing to look at legislative improvements to public safety communications. This markup will be the next step in advancing the important legislation before us.

“Important things like upgrading our 911 call centers, improvements to our wireless emergency alerting, and improvements to our outage reporting are crucial improvements that we now can look at through a legislative lens.

“Alongside my friend Representative Carter from Louisiana, I recently introduced the Next Generation 911 Act. This legislation would establish a grant program at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, for Next Generation 911 technology. It would also establish a nationwide Next Generation 911 Cybersecurity Center and a Next Generation 911 Advisory Board.

“Upgrading our nation’s call centers to NG911 technology is crucial for public safety. This internet protocol-based system will open the door for advanced tools for both the public and our first responders to use.

“This legislation will also enable deployment nationwide. A patchwork of call centers that still have aging, outdated legacy systems risks a communications landscape that is uneven and non-interoperable. I have been a long-time supporter of NG911 deployment nationwide and I am proud to lead this legislation to make it happen.

“I do want to note that while we are taking steps to advance this legislation towards law, we are still working on finding an appropriate dollar amount to fund this grant program. It is critical we balance the need to fund this important program while making sure we maintain fiscal responsibility.

“This markup also includes many of my colleagues’ bipartisan bills to ensure alerts for natural disasters and potential risks are received in a timely manner. I'm glad to see our subcommittee prioritizing safety and communications for all Americans.

“Our public safety and law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to help us in our times of need, and we must make sure they have the best tools to do their jobs and best serve all Americans.

“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 committee and onto the floor so we can deliver results for the American people.”

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 Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission.

Subcommittee Chairman Hudson’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:

“Good morning, and welcome to today’s oversight hearing – the first this congress – of the Federal Communications Commission. Welcome back to Chairman Carr—congratulations on your appointment as Chairman—and Commissioner Gomez. I want to extend a special welcome, or should I say welcome back, to Commissioner Trusty. Congratulations on your confirmation and welcome to your first oversight hearing at your old stomping ground. It is always exciting to see a former Energy and Commerce Committee staffer become a commissioner. I know Mr. Latta is very proud.

“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 y’all know already, I am too familiar with calls dropping as I drive around my own district—reforming the satellite licensing process, and ensuring that Next Generation 911 networks are reliable and interoperable, another issue I’ve made my top priority over the years. 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 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 source of news for most Americans, yet they now compete in 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. It would empower local stations to better compete against dominant platforms. I urge the Commission to keep these realities in mind as it continues its deregulatory agenda.

“A huge accomplishment this year was the Working Families Tax Cut’s direction of the FCC to auction 800 MHz of spectrum for commercial use. Making this spectrum available is essential to America’s leadership in 5G and 6G. I am pleased that the agency has already begun this work by identifying at least 100 MHz for auction in the upper C-Band. As the agency looks for the 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 GHz band and the CBRS band. The proposal your agenda laid out this month to expand unlicensed operations in the 6 GHz band is a great step.

“Finally, I am a member of the bipartisan, bicameral Universal Service Fund Working Group. The USF, overseen by the FCC, helps support broadband access to high-cost rural areas, schools and libraries, rural health centers, and low-income households. Last year, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the USF. But it is past time to reform this program to ensure its long-term sustainability and ensure the funds are reaching the right people. Congress needs to reexamine what the USF supports and how it is funded. A sustainable USF is essential to ensuring all Americans have access to affordable, reliable broadband. Given the FCC’s role in administering the Fund, I look forward to discussing ways to ensure the USF remains viable for future generations.

“Today’s hearing is an opportunity to discuss the many important issues before the FCC. I thank the Commissioners for being here today and I look forward to our conversation.”

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.