Agenda

Who would have expected that broadband spectrum would create an enormous logjam in Congress? Well, it has. But at long last Republicans have struck a deal to auction more government spectrum as part of the tax bill, which may be the closest thing there is to a free government lunch. The 2023 expiration of the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to sell government spectrum licenses has slowed plans to build out broadband networks and put existing airwaves to more productive use.

Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA) sounded the alarm about the dangers of the Republican plan to auction 800 megahertz of spectrum that is essential to national security, aviation safety and America’s innovation economy in a one-on-one conversation with Dr. Tom Karako, Director of the Missile Defense Project and Senior Fellow in Defense & Security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. During the discussion, Sen Cantwell and Dr.

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it,” the famed computer scientist Alan Kay once said.

The broadband industry has been reeling since the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released new rules for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program on June 6. Now, state broadband offices are scrambling to redo their subgrant programs in 90 days––right when many were poised to begin making their BEAD awards.

The House Appropriations Committee advanced numerous subcommittee allocations for Fiscal Year 2026. The measure was approved with a vote of 35 to 28. The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides a total discretionary allocation. Earmarks include $643 million in Community Project Funding for 509 projects requested by 192 Members. There is $3.77 billion for Rural Development programs, prioritizing funding for home ownership and infrastructure lending, including $90 million for the ReConnect broadband program.

How are state offices navigating the changes to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program? “We stopped the trains on [June 6] when we saw [the news] pop at noon,” said Misty Ann Giles, director of the Department of Administration and chief operating officer for the state of Montana. Giles said her staff has been meeting regularly, “unpacking the new guidance, and meeting with our Communication Advisory Commission members.” Her team’s top priority is to better understand the timelines outlined in the new guidelines.

As the governments of the West pivot away from regulating the world’s newest technology, the world’s oldest institution wants to step in. In his first official address to cardinals, Pope Leo XIV made curtailing the risks of runaway artificial intelligence a defining mission of his pontificate. The new pope warned of the dangers AI poses to “human dignity, justice and labor.” For the Vatican, AI and technology aren’t just side interests.

We write to urge you to schedule a markup of the budget reconciliation text you released on June 5, 2025, instead of fast tracking these significant policies through a partisan floor process. If these policies are “bold and transformational” and will have an impact “for generations to come” as you argue, then they should be debated and considered through the regular order of our committee process.