Washington, D.C. - Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers delivered remarks today on winning the future by ensuring American families have access to dependable broadband services.
Excerpts and highlights from her remarks:
AMERICAN INNOVATION
“Access to broadband in Eastern Washington and across our country has never been more important than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To work from home, educate their children, access health care, connect with loved ones, and maintain their communities of worship. We have continued our work to close the digital divide for the most remote and underserved areas which is so important for me. I’m grateful for the work of this committee to pass mapping legislation, which was signed into law over a year ago, to update our maps so that we better target our efforts.
“In the U.S. millions of Americans do have access to reliable connections. Much of this is possible because of the critical investments made by broadband providers over the past decade. Which is why, during the pandemic, American broadband networks rose to the challenge by increasing speeds and capacity while facing unprecedented demands for access."
OUTPERFORMING EUROPE
“Unlike their European counterparts, American broadband providers were never forced to reduce streaming speeds or content quality.
“This is no accident. U.S. providers have invested more than $1.8 trillion in broadband infrastructure in recent decades and spend more than three times as much per household per year than companies in the EU.
“These investments have not only paid dividends in terms of fast speeds, high performance, economic growth, and job creation, but also in creating competition and making broadband more affordable. Thanks to competitive pressures, innovation, and a light-touch regulatory environment, broadband prices have seen a significant decline over the past decade.
“It is no surprise that over the last 6 years, we have seen an increase in broadband adoption numbers across America."
ENSURING RELIABLE, ACCESSIBLE CONNECTIONS FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES
“These trends are only going to continue and they must-so we fully close the digital divide in both rural and urban communities.
“It’s critical for families to be connected to have a more secure future and better quality of life. Healthcare, education, and economic opportunity are dependent on connectivity.
“Just think about the children who lost an entire year and counting of education because schools are closed and they have no internet access.
“What does the future look like for them? Or the parents, including millions of women and working moms, who dropped out of the workforce because remote work wasn’t an option for them."
WINNING THE FUTURE
“We must rely on solutions that work to boost access and unleash opportunities. Solutions that support American prosperity, ingenuity, and free enterprise.
“Solutions like the 28 bills in our Boosting Broadband Connectivity Agenda, that would remove unnecessary barriers that stand in the way of innovation and investment.
“There is bipartisan agreement that all Americans should have access to broadband at affordable prices, regardless of their address.
“As a result of the pandemic, we recognized this need and enacted the $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program to help. This was the right way to take action given the circumstances and it will help more people access reliable broadband.
“The Committee also recognized the valuable contributions of private providers who voluntarily signed the Keep Americans Connected pledge and committed not to disconnect anyone due to their inability to pay.
“Now, we need to study these efforts on broadband adoption before fundamentally transforming the broadband industry.
“The policies proposed by our Democratic colleagues and the Biden Administration include federally regulating the rates that private companies can charge for broadband service.
“They would prioritize inefficient, government-run networks at expense of private networks with a record of success and create arbitrary speed thresholds, that favor fiber-only projects, with no restrictions to prevent overbuilding in areas where broadband already exists.
“We all want to close the digital divide, but the only way to truly achieve this is to lead with solutions that drive results-not more government centralized power.
“Studies have suggested that for broadband affordability, private companies have better incentives to increase adoption.
“Research from the Technology Policy Institute found that that private companies have succeeded in increasing broadband adoption where digital literacy training has failed.
“We must closely inspect the impact that the recently appropriated $3 trillion will have on the communications industry, and our economy, in order to avoid enacting burdensome policies."
