A group of 12 senators led by Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., is calling on the Trump administration to release funding for states under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
The $42.45 billion BEAD program was created as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and provides broadband access grants to underserved or unserved communities.
The broadband funding aims to close the digital divide by expanding high-speed internet access through funding planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.
However, in a May 16 letter, the senators explained that states have been unable to finalize their broadband deployment plans after the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced in March that it would be revising the guidelines for the BEAD program.
“Currently, there are multiple states ready for broadband providers to put shovels in the ground tomorrow,” the senators wrote. “Forty-two states have begun or completed their BEAD application process. Three states have even had their applications fully approved and yet are waiting on funds to be released by your administration.”
“NTIA must act swiftly to release BEAD funding to states that have already been approved and expeditiously work to approve the remaining eligible applications. Time is of the essence, and our rural and tribal communities cannot afford more delays,” they emphasized.
The senators argue that revising the state application process “at this late stage” will cause further delays to the BEAD program and leave rural and Tribal communities behind.
In addition to Sen. Rosen, the letter was signed by Sens. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Mark Warner, D-Va., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Gary Peters, D-Mich., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Angus King, I-Maine.