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Letter to Chairman Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission - Walberg leads bipartisan letter to FCC on rural broadband deployment

Letter

By: Tim Walberg, Terri Sewell, Doug LaMalfa, Stephanie Murphy, Andrew Clyde, Cindy Axne, Cheri Bustos, Ron Estes, Andy Harris, Bill Huizenga, Vicky Hartzler, Matt Rosendale, Dan Bishop, Steven Horsford, Brad Wenstrup, Markwayne Mullin, GT Thompson, Jr., Dusty Johnson, Robert Good, Mark Pocan, Alex Mooney, Michael Bennet, Dick Durbin, Chris Van Hollen, Jr., Steve Daines, James Lankford, Patrick Leahy, Cynthia Lummis, French Hill, Jared Huffman, Darren Soto, Rick Allen, Randy Feenstra, Darin LaHood, James Comer, Jr., David Trone, John Moolenaar, Billy Long, G. K. Butterfield, Jr., Alma Adams, Antonio Delgado, Bill Johnson, Frank Lucas, Tim Murphy, Diana Harshbarger, Ben Cline, Ron Kind, Carol Miller, Brian Schatz, Tammy Duckworth, Angus King, Jr., Richard Burr, Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders, Jerry Carl, Tom O'Halleran, Jimmy Panetta, Sanford Bishop, Jr., Kai Kahele, Mike Simpson, Tracey Mann, Andy Barr, Chellie Pingree, Angie Craig, Trent Kelly, Virginia Foxx, Kelly Armstrong, Paul Tonko, Steve Stivers, Stephanie Bice, Ralph Norman, Jr., Jodey Arrington, Morgan Griffith, Glenn Grothman, Tom Cotton, Joni Ernst, Jerry Moran, Amy Klobuchar, Kevin Cramer, Bob Casey, Jr., Joe Manchin III, Barry Moore, Paul Gosar, David Valadao, Drew Ferguson, Ashley Hinson, Mike Bost, Jacob LaTurner, Richard Neal, Jared Golden, Michelle Fischbach, Roger Wicker, David Rouzer, Jeff Fortenberry, Elise Stefanik, Anthony Gonzalez, Peter DeFazio, Jim Clyburn, Rob Wittman, Peter Welch, Tom Tiffany, Kyrsten Sinema, Mike Crapo, Roger Marshall, Tina Smith, Deb Fischer, John Thune, Shelley Capito, Robert Aderholt, Debbie Lesko, Ken Buck, Austin Scott, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Rodney Davis, Sharice Davids, Ed Markey, Jack Bergman, Peter Stauber, Michael Guest, Richard Hudson, Jr., Dina Titus, Tom Reed II, Kevin Hern, Fred Keller, Tom Rice, Elaine Luria, Dan Newhouse, David McKinley, Mark Kelly, James Risch, Ben Cardin, Roy Blunt, Ben Luján, Jr., Mike Rounds, John Barrasso, Steve Womack, Ro Khanna, Buddy Carter, Ed Case, Russ Fulcher, Greg Pence, Hal Rogers, Kweisi Mfume, Jim Hagedorn, Jason Smith, Greg Murphy, Ted Budd, Kirsten Gillibrand, Troy Balderson, Tom Cole, Joe Wilson, Sr., Louie Gohmert, Abigail Spanberger, Scott Fitzgerald, John Boozman, Chuck Grassley, Todd Young, Debbie Stabenow, John Hoeven, Jeff Merkley, Tammy Baldwin
Date: Jan. 19, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Technology and Communication

Dear Chairman Pai:

We write today regarding the recent announcement that Phase 1 of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction is complete, with more than $9.2 billion slated to be awarded to reach more than 5.2 million unserved locations across rural America. We all hope this program will be a great success--and it is in that spirit that we write to encourage you to take every reasonable measure possible to ensure this turns out to be the case.

For far too long, too many Americans have lacked access to the affordable, high-speed broadband services they need to participate in today's online world. We appreciate the steps the FCC has taken to provide connectivity to more homes and businesses. The initial estimates of the locations that RDOF Phase 1 could connect are encouraging, and we are eager to see this program succeed so that more individuals and businesses receive the broadband services promised.

The hard work of carrying out this program will now begin in earnest. Transparency and accountability must be part and parcel of the administration of any program, and we urge you to thoroughly vet the winning bidders to ensure that they are capable of deploying and delivering the services they committed to providing. We therefore believe it is essential that the FCC apply the scrutiny needed to ensure the funding will be used wisely and effectively, consistent with the goals of the Universal Service Fund (USF) High Cost Program. Without proper due diligence today, we fear that we will not know whether funds were improperly spent for years to come.

As responsible stewards of USF funds, we ask that the FCC redouble its efforts to review the long-form applications that will now be submitted. We urge the FCC to validate that each provider in fact has the technical, financial, managerial, operational skills, capabilities, and resources to deliver the services that they have pledged for every American they plan to serve regardless of the technology they use. We also strongly encourage the FCC to make as public as possible the status of its review and consider opportunities for public input on the applications. Such transparency and accountability will be essential to ensure the success of this program and to minimize any opportunities for fraud or abuse.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to continuing to work with you to develop and implement programs to close the digital divide.


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