{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-colleagues-write-to-vice-president-harris-about-mismanagement-of-broadband-initiatives/", "Young, Colleagues Write to Vice President Harris about Mismanagement of Broadband Initiatives", "2024-09-18", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "Senate", "IN", "Todd Young", "Y000064", "www.young.senate.gov", "toddyoung", "https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and a group of Republican senators sent a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris regarding mismanagement of federal broadband initiatives. In 2021, President Biden tasked the Vice President with leading the Administration\u2019s effort to expand broadband services to rural, unserved communities. The $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program has yet to connect a single person to the internet.\n\n\u201cInstead of focusing on delivering broadband services to unserved areas, your administration has used the BEAD program to add partisan, extralegal requirements that were never envisioned by Congress and have obstructed broadband deployment,\u201d wrote the senators. \u201cBy imposing burdensome climate change mandates on infrastructure projects, prioritizing government-owned networks over private investment, mandating the use of unionized labor in states, and seeking to regulate broadband rates, your administration has caused unnecessary delays leaving millions of Americans unconnected.\u201d\n\nThe letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).\n\nFull text of the letter can be found here and below:\n\nDear Vice President Harris:\n\nWe are writing to express serious concerns regarding your role as the Biden-Harris administration\u2019s \u201cbroadband czar\u201d and the mismanagement of federal broadband initiatives under your leadership. It appears that your performance as \u201cbroadband czar\u201d has mirrored your performance as \u201cborder czar,\u201d marked by poor management and a lack of effectiveness despite significant federal broadband investments and your promises to deliver broadband to rural areas.\n\nAs you are aware, Congress, through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provided the National Telecommunications and Information Administration with $42.45 billion for the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. These funds are intended to provide broadband access to unserved communities, particularly those in rural areas.\n\nIn 2021, you were specifically tasked by President Biden to lead the administration\u2019s efforts to expand broadband services to unserved Americans. And at the time, you stated, \u201cwe can bring broadband to rural America today.\u201d Despite your assurances over three years ago, rural and unserved communities continue to wait for the connectivity they were promised. Under your leadership, not a single person has been connected to the internet using the $42.45 billion allocated for the BEAD program. Indeed, Politico recently reported on \u201cthe messy, delayed rollout of\u201d this program.\n\nInstead of focusing on delivering broadband services to unserved areas, your administration has used the BEAD program to add partisan, extralegal requirements that were never envisioned by Congress and have obstructed broadband deployment. By imposing burdensome climate change mandates on infrastructure projects, prioritizing government-owned networks over private investment, mandating the use of unionized labor in states, and seeking to regulate broadband rates, your administration has caused unnecessary delays leaving millions of Americans unconnected.\n\nThe administration\u2019s lack of focus on truly connecting the unconnected has failed the American people and represents a gross misuse of limited taxpayer dollars. The American public deserves better.\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:46:43Z"]], "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.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-colleagues-write-to-vice-president-harris-about-mismanagement-of-broadband-initiatives/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6520100180059671, "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"}