Washington D.C.- House Energy and Commerce Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Republican Subcommittee Leader for Communications and Technology Bob Latta (R-OH) issued the following statement on a comprehensive package of 28 bills that aim to turbocharge public and private investment by promoting new and upgraded infrastructure deployments, boosting competition, streamlining permitting processes, facilitating broadband deployment on federal lands, and closing the digital divide in both rural and urban areas.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the challenges faced by families and workers who still do not have reliable access to the internet. This has prevented millions from accessing vital health care, remote work, and economic resources. Unreliable internet and limited broadband access has also set countless children back in school because of connectivity issues while far too many schools remain closed. It’s unacceptable and hurting the next generation. To make a strong comeback from this pandemic, every House Republican on Energy and Commerce is leading in the Boosting Broadband Connectivity Agenda so America closes the digital divide. This agenda will get education back on track and promote economic opportunity for all Americans across the entire country."
Communications and Technology Subcommittee Leader Latta on why Republicans are leading on the Boosting Broadband Connectivity Agenda. He shared the story of Sara from Bloomdale, Ohio.
She’s a mom of three boys in elementary school who can’t access the internet from home. Sara told Latta, “My main request in reaching out to you is to ask if there is anything that can be done for all of us in the rural areas that are being held back academically and career wise because of the lack of access to stable internet."
To close the digital divide for families like Sara’s, Energy and Commerce Republicans released 28 bills that will:
Promote New Infrastructure Deployment
* The Winning the International Race for Economic Leadership and Expanding Service to Support Leadership (WIRELESS Leadership) Act, led by Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), would streamline permitting processes for wireless providers by preserving State and local zoning authority subject to reasonable limitations, like shot clocks and cost-based fees, to ensure providers receive an answer on their applications in a timely manner;
* The Barriers and Regulatory Obstacles Avoids Deployment of Broadband Access and Needs Deregulatory Leadership (BROADBAND Leadership) Act, led by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), streamlines permitting processes for telecommunications service providers by preserving State and local zoning authority subject to reasonable limitations, like shot clocks and cost-based fees, to ensure providers receive an answer on their application in a timely manner;
* The Cable Access for Broadband and Local Economic Leadership (CABLE Leadership) Act, led by Rep. Billy Long (R-MO), would place shot clocks on a cable franchising authority to act on a request for a new franchise to speed up deployment;
* The Connecting and Building Lines for Expedited Expansion (CABLE Expansion) Act, led by Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), would streamline permitting processes for cable operators by preserving franchising authority subject to reasonable limitations, like shot clocks, to ensure cable operators receive an answer on applications to upgrade or deploy new facilities in a timely manner;
* The Communities Overregulating Networks Need Economic Competition Today (CONNECT) Act, also led by Rep. Billy Long (R-MO), would promote competition by limiting government-run broadband networks throughout the country and encouraging private investment;
Promote Deployment, Competition, and Consumer Choice through Collocation and Modifications to Existing Infrastructure
* The Streamlining Permitting to Enable Efficient Deployment of Broadband Infrastructure (SPEED) Act, led by Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN), would reduce federal red tape by exempting broadband facilities from burdensome environmental and historic preservation reviews on federal property where a communications facility has already been approved;
* The Wireless Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act, led by Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH), would remove the requirement to prepare an environmental or historic preservation review in order to add new or upgrade wireless facilities on existing infrastructure;
* The Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act, led by Rep. John Joyce (R-PA), would remove the requirement to prepare an environmental or historic preservation review in order to add new or upgrade wireline facilities;
* The Wireless Resiliency and Flexible Investment Ac t, led by Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), would expedite the approval process for modifications to existing wireless facilities to make it easier to improve the resiliency of communications network providing a direct benefit to public safety by making it easier to provide backup power or more reliable connection capabilities;
* The Broadband Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act, led by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), would expedite the approval process for modifications to wireline facilities that do not substantially expand the existing footprint, including those that would improve the resiliency of the communication network and provide a direct benefit to public safety, such as backup power, and hardening the facilities, or providing more reliable connection capabilities;
* The Consumer Access to Broadband for Local Economies and Competition Act (CABLE Competition Act), led by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), would streamline the transfer of a franchise from a franchise authority to a cable operator;
* The Cable Transparency Act, led by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), would clarify and make more transparent the terms for a cable franchise;
* The Protecting Critical Infrastructure Act, led by Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN), would establish a penalty of a 2-year prison term for anyone who willfully or maliciously destroys a communications facility;
Remove Unnecessary or Duplicative Environmental and Historical Preservation Barriers
* The Reducing Antiquated Permitting for Infrastructure Deployment (RAPID) Act, led by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), would provide clarity and certainty for providers to comply with historical regulations and speed up the deployment of wireless infrastructure;
* The Brownfields Broadband Deployment Act, led by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), would remove the requirement to prepare an environmental or historic preservation review for the deployment of a broadband project entirely within a brownfields site, which is previously disturbed land;
* The Coastal Broadband Deployment Act, led by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), would remove the requirement to prepare an environmental or historic preservation review for the deployment of broadband projects entirely within a floodplain;
* The Timely Replacement Under Secure and Trusted for Early and Dependable Broadband Networks Act (TRUSTED Broadband Networks Act), led by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), would remove the requirement to prepare an environmental or historic preservation review for projects to permanently remove and replace equipment in our networks that puts our national security at risk;
* The Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act, led by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), would speed up the deployment of requests that modify an existing wireless tower or base station that do not substantially change the physical dimensions of the tower or base station that involves the addition, removal, or replacement of transmission equipment;
* The Wildfire Wireless Resiliency Act, led by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), would speed up the deployment of projects to replace or improve communications facilities after a wildfire;
Promote Broadband Deployment on Federal Lands
* The Standard Fees to Expedite Evaluation and Streamlining Act (Standard FEES Act), led by Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), would establish a common fee for processing applications to deploy communications facilities on Federal property;
* The Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act, led by Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), would require a study on barriers to reviewing requests within the agencies to deploy broadband infrastructure on Federal land;
* The Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, led by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), would direct NTIA to lead an interagency strike force to help prioritize reviews for requests to deploy broadband on Federal land;
* The Federal Broadband Deployment in Unserved Areas Act, led by Rep. John Curtis (R-UT), would allow the Department of Interior to integrate FCC broadband mapping data into a platform that shows which Federal property can support communications facilities in an unserved area;
* The Deploying Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions And Legacy Applications (DIGITAL Applications) Act, led by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), would establish an online portal to accept, process, and dispose of the common form application to deploy a communications facility on Federal property;
* The Facilitating the Deployment of Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions And Legacy Applications (Facilitating DIGITAL Applications) Act, led by Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), would require the NTIA to update Congress on whether the Departments of Interior and Agriculture have established an online portal for the acceptance, processing, and disposal of the common form application to deploy a communications facility on Federal property;
* The Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act, led by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), would require NTIA to submit a plan to Congress on tracking the acceptance, processing, and disposal of requests for communications use authorizations on Federal property;
* The Connecting Communities Post Disasters Act, led by Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL), would accelerate replacing and improving communications facilities in Presidentially-declared disaster areas;
* The Rural Broadband Permitting Efficiency Act of 2021, led by Rep. John Curtis (R-UT), would allow Federal departments to delegate Federal environmental compliance for broadband projects to States and Indian Tribes.
of these bills.
