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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 28 bills to streamline broadband permitting. Subcommittee Chairman Hudson’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:  “Good morning, and welcome to today’s subcommittee markup of legislation to streamline broadband permitting. We are considering 28 bills that reduce or eliminate barriers to broadband deployment so we can finally close the digital divide.  “For years, this subcommittee has discussed the importance of ensuring that every American has access to reliable, high-speed broadband. Work, education—even healthcare and checking in on loved ones—requires a broadband connection. Yet too many Americans still lack access to this essential service. “Reaching the final unserved and underserved Americans requires funding, but it also requires permitting reform. Too 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 costs for deployment, but they also delay progress for communities that have already waited far too long. “We need to address these challenges if we hope to close the digital divide once and for all. The legislation we are 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 reformed 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 infrastructure and showed how streamlining this process can make a real difference. Congress needs to codify and build on these reforms so they last. “There is no better time than now to enact these bills. We are on the verge of closing the digital divide. 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 this program to succeed, permitting reform is essential. Otherwise, all this money will be tied up in 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. “Five of the bills we are marking up today are bipartisan. I am pleased that we have found common ground on these reforms. I 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 subcommittee, 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, learn, innovate, and 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 committee and onto the floor so we can deliver results for the American people.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, led a markup of several broadband permitting bills.  “There is no better time than now to enact these bills. We are on the verge of closing the digital divide. 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 , ”   said Chairman Hudson.   “But for this program to succeed, permitting reform is essential. Otherwise, all this money will be tied up in 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.” Legislative Vote Summary: H.R. 1343 , Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee, by a voice vote. H.R. 1588 , Facilitating DIGITAL Applications Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee, by a voice vote. H.R. 1665 , DIGITAL Applications Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee, by a voice vote. H.R. 1681 , Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee, by a voice vote. H.R. 1731 , Standard FEES Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee, by a voice vote.  H.R. 6046 , the Broadband and Telecommunications RAIL Act, was forwarded, as amended, to the Full Committee by a voice vote. H.R. 2289 , Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act , was forwarded, as amended, to the Full Committee by a roll call vote of 16 Yeas to 12 Nays. NOTE:  21 bills that had been noticed were included in an amendment to H.R. 2289, the Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act. Watch the full markup  here .  Below are key excerpts from today’s markup: Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01) on the Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act:  “This straightforward reform will remove a key barrier to broadband deployment, especially on federal lands, where reviews can take more than two years. This amendment combines legislation led by every one of my Republican colleagues on this committee, and I would like to thank them for their thoughtful proposals to bring affordable broadband to their communities quickly and ensure that taxpayer dollars are not wasted on more red tape.”  Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) on the Federal Broadcast Deployment Tracking Act:   “At the last hearing we had on this issue, we heard several detailed examples from providers across telecommunications spectrum outlining the urgent need for this legislation. [...] Passing the federal broadband deployment tracking act would be a crucial step towards fixing this process and closing the digital divide, creating a more connected future for all Americans.” Congresswoman Erin Houchin (IN-09) on the CABLE Competition Act:   “The bottom line is competition lowers prices and certainly attracts capital. The CABLE Competition Act delivers both, allowing consumers to keep the contract, cut the delays and delivering families better service at a better price.”  ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – This week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce is holding two Subcommittee Hearings and two Subcommittee Markups. Read more below. SUBCOMMITTEE MARKUP: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a markup of 28 bills to streamline broadband permitting. DATE: Tuesday, November 18, 2025  TIME: 10:15 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is holding a hearing to examine the risks and benefits of AI chatbots. DATE: Tuesday, November 18, 2025  TIME: 2:00 PM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building SUBCOMMITTEE MARKUP: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy will hold a markup of eight bills to reform appliance and building policies. DATE: Wednesday, November 19, 2025  TIME: 10:15 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade is holding a hearing to examine time, travel, and tourism. DATE: Thursday, November 20, 2025  TIME: 10:00 AM 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, and Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, announced a subcommittee markup of 28 bills to streamline broadband permitting. WHAT : Subcommittee on Communications and Technology markup of 28 bills. DATE: Tuesday, November 18, 2025 TIME: 10:15 AM ET LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building Items to be considered: • H.R. 1343 , Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act (Reps. Pfluger and Soto) • H.R. 1588 , Facilitating DIGITAL Applications Act (Reps. Miller-Meeks and Dingell) • H.R. 1665 , DIGITAL Applications Act (Reps. Cammack and Matsui) • H.R. 1681 , Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Act (Rep. Evans and Craig) • H.R. 1731 , Standard FEES Act (Reps. Palmer and Ryan) • H.R. ____ , the Broadband and Telecommunications RAIL Act (Reps. Joyce, Landsman, and Peters) • H.R. 2289 , Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act (Rep. Carter) • H.R. 278 , BROADBAND Leadership Act (Rep. Griffith) • H.R. 339 , Broadband Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act (Rep. Crenshaw) • H.R. 1541 , Wireless Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act (Rep. Rulli) • H.R. 1617 , Wireless Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act of 2025 (Rep. Langworthy) • H.R. 1655 , Wildfire Communications Resiliency Act (Rep. Bentz) • H.R. 1836 , GRANTED Act of 2025 (Rep. Obernolte) • H.R. 1975 , BEAD FEE Act of 2025 (Rep. Allen) • H.R. 2298 , Reducing Barriers for Broadband on Federal Lands Act of 2025 (Rep. Fulcher) • H.R. 2817 , Coastal Broadband Deployment Act (Rep. Bilirakis) • H.R. 3960 , Connecting Communities Post Disasters Act of 2025 (Rep. Dunn) • H.R. 4211 , Brownfields Broadband Deployment Act (Rep. Walberg) • H.R. 4927 , CABLE Competition Act (Rep. Houchin) • H.R. 5147 , Winning the International Race for Economic Leadership and Expanding Service to Support Leadership Act or WIRELESS Leadership Act (Rep. Latta) • H.R. 5170 , Cable Access for Broadband and Local Economic Leadership Act or the CABLE Leadership Act (Rep. Balderson) • H.R. 5264 , Streamlining Permitting to Enable Efficient Deployment for Broadband Infrastructure or the “SPEED for Broadband Infrastructure Act (Rep. Goldman) • H.R. 5266 , 5G Using Previously Granted Rulings that Accelerate Deployment Everywhere Act or the 5G UPGRADE Act (Rep. Harshbarger) • H.R. 5273 , Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act (Rep. Joyce) • H.R. 5290 , Cable Transparency Act (Rep. Weber) • H.R. 5311 , Connecting and Building Lines for Expedited Expansion Act or the CABLE Expansion Act (Rep. Fedorchak) • H.R. 5318 , Reducing Antiquated Permitting for Infrastructure Deployment Act (Rep. Hudson) • H.R. 5358 , TRUSTED Broadband Networks Act (Rep. Fry) This notice is at the discretion of the Chairman. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed at energycommerce.house.gov . If you have any questions concerning this hearing, please contact Noah Jackson at Noah.Jackson@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Daniel Kelly at Daniel.Kelly@mail.house.gov . ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, announced the Committee’s new Chief Counsel of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology is Michael Essington. Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chief Counsel—Michael Essington Michael Essington will serve as Chief Counsel for the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Most recently, Michael led efforts at the EchoStar Corporation to engage Capitol Hill Republicans and the Trump Administration as Senior Manager of Government Affairs. Michael previously served on Capitol Hill for over eight years in the House and Senate, including as General Counsel for Senator Todd Young where he focused on commerce, telecom, and media issues. Before moving to Washington, Michael worked in the private sector at an Am Law 100 firm in Chicago and served over six years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Michael is a graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law and received bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and accounting from Cedarville University. ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, and Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, issued the following statement following President Trump’s announcement of a deal to separate TikTok from control of entities with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP): “We appreciate the extensive work done by President Trump and Vice President Vance to make progress toward a qualified divestiture of TikTok from ByteDance. As the details are finalized, we must ensure this deal protects American users from the influence and surveillance of CCP-aligned groups,” said Chairmen Guthrie, Bilirakis, and Hudson. “Limiting the influence and involvement of China remains a vital national security interest, and we look forward to seeing a deal that secures America’s interests on the global stage.” ###

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.  – 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.  – 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  ###