{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/ranking-member-lujan-leads-telecommunications-and-media-subcommittee-hearing-on-defending-americas-communications-networks/", "Ranking Member Luj\u00e1n Leads Telecommunications and Media Subcommittee Hearing on Defending America\u2019s Communications Networks", "2025-12-02", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "NM", "Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n", "L000570", "www.lujan.senate.gov", "lujan", "https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee\u2019s Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media, helped lead a subcommittee hearing titled \u201cSignal Under Siege: Defending America\u2019s Communications Networks.\u201d\n\nWith Americans spending more time online, cybercriminals \u2013 both domestic and global \u2013 are evolving and finding new ways to disrupt, infiltrate, and attack U.S. telecommunications systems. During the hearing, Senator Luj\u00e1n examined how evolving threats and security vulnerabilities are impacting our communications networks and reviewed efforts the federal government can take to safeguard the communications industry. Additionally, Senator Luj\u00e1n raised concerns about actions taken by the Trump administration to dismantle efforts to protect our communications networks from fraud, espionage, and sabotage.\n\nLast year, as Chair of the Subcommittee, Senator Luj\u00e1n convened a hearing on communications networks safety and security in the wake of the Salt Typhoon hacks.\n\nThe hearing witnesses included:\n\nMr. Robert Mayer, Senior Vice President of Cybersecurity and Innovation, USTelecom\u2014The Broadband Association\n\nMr. Daniel Gizinski, President of Satellite and Space Communications Segment, Comtech\n\nMr. Jamil N. Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director, National Security Institute at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University\n\nMs. Debra Jordan, Former Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, Federal Communications Commission\n\nVideo of the hearing is available here.\n\nAn excerpt of Senator Luj\u00e1n\u2019s opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:\n\nI think every member on this committee can agree that there is nothing more important than keeping our communities and our country safe. That\u2019s why the security of our communications networks is vital.\n\nThe networks are the foundation of our daily lives \u2013 they carry our phone calls, texts, internet traffic, health information, emergency services, and so much more.\n\nIt\u2019s also our responsibility to ensure that foreign actors like China cannot infiltrate our infrastructure or steal Americans\u2019 data.\n\nThere is clear evidence that foreign adversaries \u2014 including nation-state actors \u2014 are escalating their efforts to infiltrate and compromise our networks.\n\nThe Salt Typhoon hacks from last year exposed fundamental weaknesses in our telecom infrastructure. That attack breached major carriers, such as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, and compromised millions of individuals\u2019 data.\n\nThis attack also likely represents the largest telecommunications hack in our nation\u2019s history.\n\nAbout a year ago, we examined this very topic \u2013 in this very same committee room. Yet a year later, our communications networks are no more secure. And we can see that it\u2019s not just the major carriers \u2013 I\u2019m also concerned that our schools, hospitals, and libraries; our police departments and emergency responders; are all exposed and do not have the resources to defend themselves against foreign adversaries.\n\nI am also extremely concerned that the Federal Communications Commission rushed to dismantle efforts taken under the last administration to verify the security of our networks.\n\nThe FCC stripped these protections away \u2014 replacing them with voluntary pledges and handshakes from companies whose networks have already proven themselves to be vulnerable to data breaches. To put it plainly, these companies are basically leaving their front doors unlocked after a data break-in, and the FCC has decided to take their word when they promise they\u2019ve installed deadbolts and security cameras.\n\nIt is all deeply troubling.\n\nBy removing enforceable standards, the FCC is weakening our national security at a time when our communications and digital landscapes are growing like never before.\n\nThere is still a lot we don\u2019t know about the damage done by the Salt Typhoon hacks. In fact, President Trump fired the board that was investigating the attack.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/ranking-member-lujan-leads-telecommunications-and-media-subcommittee-hearing-on-defending-americas-communications-networks/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4732703566551208, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}