Washington, DC -Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) delivered remarks at a Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing entitled, “Promises Made, Promises Kept: Connecting Americans for Future Generations."
As Prepared For Delivery
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and welcome back to the Commissioners here today.
As Republican Leader of this committee, and former Chairman of the full committee and this subcommittee, I’ve always taken our oversight role really seriously. If Twitter’s doing a fact check, they ought to fact check the title of your hearing, Mr. Chairman. I think they’d probably find it false.
Sadly, the title the hearing made clear this would be another partisan attack on President Trump. I guess we’re in that season, long on nasty quotes and short on facts. You’d think that when fires are destroying communities in the west and COVID is upending life nationwide that Democrats could rise above partisan rancor and show America how we can work together to close the digital divide. That should be our common goal.
Fortunately, while Democrats on this committee put partisan politics first, the FCC-an independent agency - has done a lot to ensure Americans are better connected. In fact, the FCC under Chairman Pai’s leadership has done a lot, period. Here I have a list of achievements that spans many pages, Mr. Chairman, which I ask to be put in the record. There’s too many to detail in just the five minutes I have. The FCC has done so much to connect patients and doctors during the pandemic to close the digital divide, to promote innovation, to protect consumers by stopping illegal robocalls. That’s just to name a few. These, Mr. Chairman, are hardly opportunities missed. Is there more work that can be done? You bet there is, and we should do it together.
In 2017, Chairman Pai announced his plan to protect consumers while ending burdensome regulations that hinder investment in broadband network deployment and resiliency. This allowed our networks to withstand the COVID-19 stress test while Socialists in Europe struggled to micromanage their networks under burdensome regulations like Democrats have advocated for here. Meanwhile, we could have been working to expand broadband access for low-income and minority consumers, but the Committee wasted five months, focusing instead on, I quote, “mak[ing] sure big corporations don’t use their power to undermine and silence their small competitors or the political opposition." I’m pretty sure that didn’t happen-at least not by broadband providers. Meanwhile the farse of Net Neutrality was fully exposed as little more than a political head fake.
In the first two years under my Chairmanship, this committee ticked off many accomplishments:
* We reauthorized the FCC for the first time in over two decades, which eliminated redundant and outdated reporting requirements, and encouraged the Commission to undertake process reforms to improve transparency and open governance, which the Commission has done;
* We required the Commission to increase spectrum availability for commercial use, which the Commission has far exceeded under Chairman Pai’s leadership, including making an unprecedented 1,200 MHz of unlicensed spectrum for the Internet of Things;
* We required the Commission to improve public safety communications and they did - such as adopting rules on Vertical 911 Location Accuracy and implementing Kari’s law, and implemented First Net… which first responders used last week in Oregon.
During COVID-19, while Democrats focused on attacking the President - putting politics before progress - the FCC was putting consumers first. Chairman Pai’s Commission has taken over 15 major actions to combat illegal robocalls, streamlined the Lifeline program so more low-income consumers could access phone service and made over $8 billion available to help rural consumers have access to high speed internet, with the intention of putting $20 billion out the door through their Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.
And where there are still challenges that require Congressional action, Republicans have put forth serious proposals to address these issues, and we would like to work across the aisle to make a difference. In fact, we sent you an urgent letter in July, Mr. Chairman, asking you to put consumers and children first and hold a hearing to close the digital divide. But that did not happen.
Meanwhile, the Commission under Chairman Pai’s leadership has had a busy year acting to keep Americans connected.
The 9th Circuit Court upheld the majority of the FCC’s small cell wireless infrastructure order that helped bring our infrastructure siting regulations into the 5G-Era. The largest mid-band spectrum auction in our nation’s history is on track to begin in less than three months and 5G deployment is under way. And, through the Broadband DATA Act, the FCC is starting its work to update the maps and pushing out significant funding for rural broadband deployment.
Today, I look forward to celebrating the successes of the past four years and efforts close the digital divide.
I would like to end by thanking my Energy and Commerce Committee alum, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, for his many years of public service. When we’ve called, you’ve come. When we’ve asked for answers, you’ve given them to us. You’ve always been straightforward and hardworking. We appreciate your leadership in every capacity. Your expertise will be missed, and I wish you well in future endeavors.
I yield back.
