{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=37082283-23A9-4BE1-A401-36ED97AE5CAD", "Thune Discusses His Broadband Oversight Effort, Presses Agencies to Cut Bureaucratic Red Tape for Broadband Infrastructure", "2022-12-13", "2022", "2022-12", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "Click here to watch the video.\n\nWASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, today helped lead a subcommittee hearing entitled, \u201cEnsuring Solutions to Meet America\u2019s Broadband Needs.\u201d During the hearing, Thune discussed his nationwide broadband oversight effort that will hold agencies accountable and ensure that previously authorized broadband funding is being used in the most efficient way possible to protect taxpayer dollars. Thune also highlighted his bipartisan Rural Internet Improvement Act, legislation that would streamline and bolster U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development broadband programs and ensure that their funding is being targeted to rural areas that need it the most.\n\nAs part of Thune\u2019s broadband oversight effort, today he sent letters to the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Transportation (DOT), and USDA regarding each of the agencies\u2019 implementation of Thune\u2019s MOBILE NOW Act that was signed into law in 2018, which, among other things, helped cut through the bureaucratic red tape associated with building broadband networks.\n\nFull letter to DOD here.\n\nFull letter to DOI here.\n\nFull letter to DOT here.\n\nFull letter to USDA here.\n\nThune recently sent a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Inspector General Peggy Gustafson for her failure to fulfill congressionally mandated oversight of previously authorized broadband funding. Thune also sent a letter to a diverse group of stakeholders, including broadband associations, public interest groups, and free-market think tanks to seek their input on the current broadband regulatory structure.\n\nThune\u2019s opening remarks (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cThank you, Chairman Lujan for holding today\u2019s hearing.\n\n\u201cI\u2019d like to begin by saying it\u2019s a been a pleasure to lead this subcommittee with you these past couple of years, and I look forward to continue working with you on a number of important issues before this subcommittee next Congress.\n\n\u201cOne of those issues is ensuring Americans have access to reliable broadband services.\n\n\u201cThe expansion of these services to more rural areas has long been a priority of mine here in the Senate.\n\n\u201cAnd since March of 2020, Congress has allocated billions of dollars for broadband-related services through COVID-19 pandemic relief packages, and most recently through passage of the infrastructure bill which provided broadband funding at a price tag of over $64 billion.\n\n\u201cThe nearly $80 billion for broadband specific projects, on top of the billions of dollars the FCC disburses annually under its Universal Service Fund, is an unprecedented amount of money.\n\n\u201cThe good news is that for those areas where certain connectivity challenges remain unresolved, this funding, in addition to the sustained investments made by telecommunications providers across the country, should help close the digital divide.\n\n\u201cThe bad news is that this funding is spread out over 15 separate agencies and 133 programs with the lion\u2019s share of the funding going through NTIA.\n\n\u201cThis is deeply concerning.\n\n\u201cAs I argued when Congress was debating the infrastructure bill, NTIA has previously fumbled attempts to bring broadband access to more communities.\n\n\u201cBack in 2009, the stimulus bill allocated $4.7 billion to NTIA to expand broadband access in rural and unserved areas.\n\n\u201cIt didn\u2019t go very well.\n\n\u201cThe agency struggled with implementation and there were serious issues with a number of the projects the agency approved.\n\n\u201cOther projects resulted in a significant amount of overbuilding \u2013 meaning that they resulted in the construction of additional broadband infrastructure in areas that already had access to reliable broadband at the taxpayer\u2019s expense.\n\n\u201cMore recently, last year NTIA called for volunteers to help determine how to allocate the $1.5 billion Congress provided NTIA for certain broadband programs.\n\n\u201cThat is unacceptable.\n\n\u201cAnd I\u2019m afraid without stringent oversight, NTIA will make, and has already made, the same mistakes when managing the $42.5 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program and Tribal Broadband Connectivity program.\n\n\u201cThat is why last week, I began an oversight effort to review the numerous federal broadband programs.\n\n\u201cOversight of how these dollars are being spent is necessary to avoid agencies misusing billions of taxpayer dollars and more importantly, to ensure the funding is actually going to areas that are truly unserved.\n\n\u201cIf there are changes that need to be made to the various programs Congress has established, we need to get to work to make sure they are as effective as possible and work as Congress intended.\n\n\u201cOne such program we\u2019ve begun work to make necessary improvements to is USDA\u2019s ReConnect Program.\n\n\u201cI was pleased to partner with Chair Lujan and Senators Klobuchar and Fischer in introducing the Rural Internet Improvement Act\u2014legislation that will streamline USDA\u2019s broadband authorities and target funding to areas most in need.\n\n\u201cWe must also recognize the federal government will not solve the digital divide on its own.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s important we maintain a regulatory framework that promotes investment and allows telecommunications companies to make the kind of choices that have resulted in strong networks.\n\n\u201cUnlike other countries, broadband providers in the United States were able to keep Americans connected when demands for fixed and mobile networks soared during the pandemic.\n\n\u201cThis is largely because of the United States\u2019 light-tough regulatory approach to broadband policy, which has incentivized the private sector to make network reliability, affordability, and resiliency a priority.\n\n\u201cFinally, we must tackle permitting hurdles that delay the buildout of broadband infrastructure.\n\n\u201cMy MOBILE NOW Act, which was signed into law in 2018, has been an effective tool in moving the federal government in the right direction, but I continue to hear concerns about unnecessary delays and costs associated with broadband permitting.\n\n\u201cThe agencies processing permitting requests need to be held accountable if they are not meeting deadlines.\n\n\u201cWhich is why today I\u2019m sending requests to several federal agencies on the steps they have taken to implement MOBILE NOW\u2019s broadband siting mandates.\n\n\u201cFor too long we\u2019ve talked about bridging the digital divide.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s time to actually do it.\n\n\u201cAnd the only way that happens is if this Committee actually utilizes its important oversight responsibilities to ensure the agencies under its jurisdiction make smart, targeted investments that use taxpayer dollars responsibly.\n\n\u201cAnything short of that will result in government waste leaving Americans still unconnected.\n\n\u201cI want to thank each of the witnesses for being here today, and I look forward to the discussion.\n\n\u201cThank you, Mr. Chairman.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:41:06Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", 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