Chairman Hudson Delivers Opening Statement at C&T Hearing

Welcome to today's oversight hearing of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA. I want to welcome Administrator Ariel Roth back to the Energy and Commerce Committee. Administrator Roth was once a detailee here at E&C. We love to see our alumni move on to important roles in the administration, and you certainly have done us proud. NTIA serves as the President's principal advisor on telecommunication issues. This includes issues like broadband deployment, managing federal spectrum use, international telecommunications policies, advanced communications research, and strengthening public safety communications. Much of NTIA's focus over the last year has been on the $42.45 billion broadband equity access and deployment program, or BEAD program. This program aims to connect the remaining unserved and underserved Americans to broadband. The Biden administration ran this program for three years, but burned it with onerous regulations that created only confusion and delays. As a result, in three years, they only approved three state proposals, and zero homes were connected to broadband. Last June, the Trump NTIA restructured BEAD, removing many of the Biden administration's burdens. They eliminated technology preference, unlawful rate regulation of broadband plans, and unnecessary labor, DEI, and climate requirements. I proposed a similar approach in my Speed for BEAD legislation, and I'm thrilled that NTIA implemented many of my ideas. In the one year since reforming BEAD, this administration got each state to run a new bidding round to save taxpayers billions of dollars, approved 54 final proposals, and saw homes in two states get connected to broadband. That is the speed we need. Administrator Roth and her team have done incredible work to save taxpayer dollars. Look no further than their work in D.C. Rather than rubber stamping D.C.'s BEAD proposal, Administrator Roth and her team traveled around the district to see the places where D.C. wanted to use BEAD funds. They found D.C. wanted to spend $70,000 per location to connect a fieldhouse, a construction trailer, a gated PEPCO electric utility building, a shed along Amtrak train tracks, a non-existent building along the same Amtrak train tracks, and an open field off the GW Parkway. Locations that we can all agree do not need broadband. Following this work, D.C. confirmed that they had zero unserved or underserved locations that need funding. I applaud NTIA's work in rooting out waste and generating real savings in this program. NTIA's BEAD reforms have saved over $20 billion for American taxpayers. Now we must consider what to do with the non-deployment money. Although the infrastructure law outlines some uses, NTIA still maintains significant discretion on how states can use this money. I have made no secret that I believe some of this money should be used to deploy Next Generation 9-1-1 nationwide. Deploying this internet protocol-based system at our 9-1-1 call centers will open the door to advanced tools for both the public and our first responders directly supporting the intent of the infrastructure law. I know many members of this committee have their own ideas for how we should use this money, including supporting telecommunications workforce development programs and permitting efforts. I hope today's hearing will shed light on how NTIA is planning to use these funds. NTIA also plays an important role in public safety communications. It supports the nation's public safety agencies in their adoption and implementation of advanced communication technologies, including NG911. It also supports the First Responder Network Authority, the independent authority that oversees the nationwide public safety broadband network. I appreciate Administrator Roth visiting my district last year to see how FirstNet is serving the public safety community in Alamance County. As many of you know, the House recently passed the First Responder Network Authority Reauthorization Act, reauthorizing FirstNet until September 2037 and implementing several essential reforms, including bringing the authority directly under NTIA. We now await Senate action on this important legislation. I want to thank NTIA for working with us on this legislation. Thank you to Administrator Roth for being here today, and I really look forward to our discussion.