Fixing Biden’s Broken Broadband Program
By Sen. John Thune
More than three years ago, Congress created the $42.5 billion BEAD program to bring broadband service to unserved parts of the country. It was the single largest federal investment in broadband expansion ever made. But to date, it has not connected a single household to the internet.
The reason? The Biden administration chose to load up this program with a slew of extraneous conditions that made it unworkable for many providers. The program’s requirements read like a progressive wish-list, and they bear little resemblance to what Congress envisioned for this program.
The Biden administration added irrelevant climate mandates. They required union labor and DEI hiring practices. The program prioritizes government-owned networks over private investment. And despite a clear prohibition on rate regulation in the law, the Biden administration tried to add that in, too.
So many extraneous requirements were added to this program that it couldn’t fulfill its core function, and we’re now in a situation where a $42 billion taxpayer-funded program hasn’t connected even a single household to the internet after three-plus years.
But now there’s a new administration in the White House. President Trump has expressed interest in finally getting this program off the ground, and the Commerce Department has begun to review these requirements. I recently led my colleagues in urging Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to remove the Biden-era mandates that stopped the BEAD program from actually connecting unserved communities to the internet. By reviewing and ultimately eliminating these unnecessary requirements, we can ensure that this funding is finally deployed to expand broadband access to unserved areas quickly and efficiently.
The BEAD program is one particularly egregious example of the consequences of overregulation. The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are working to eliminate some of the Biden administration’s burdensome regulations. Democrats don’t seem to see the downside of government mandates, but the American people feel them. Those mandates have costs: financial costs and opportunity costs. In the case of the BEAD program, it’s meant unserved areas have been kept waiting years for a reliable internet connection.
Regulatory relief continues to be a priority for the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress. The American people can be confident that we will continue working to eliminate the red tape that stifles progress.
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Senator Thune has much bigger problems that broadband access that he still wants to blame Biden for. The citizens of his state and in the country are fearful about Medicare and the social security let alone the tremendous loss of family wealthy due to the good senator’s failure to provide leadership and provide even minimal pushback to the worst excesses of the president.
Senator Thune, how about fixing Trump’s ruinous economic policies? Total disaster. Stand up for us!
That’s what Goon had to say today?
Nothing else going on?
Why don’t you come back to South Dakota and hold a town hall meeting being your supposed to be the senate leader. Maybe watertown?
Aberdeen too please.
Actually Thune is right. Hard-wiring broadband is stupid. We need to scrap that plan and push Starlink to all of the rural portions of the United States. The US Govt needs to quickly prepare and ratify a 70 billion dollar contract with Starlink today.
Tell us you work for Musk without telling us you work for Musk.
cont’d – Starlink was marginally viable as a connection option before we got to know the full extent of Musk’s eagerness to delve into the nation’s classified and private data. Sure I’d love my internet routing through his fingers. I’d like that for me and millions of us. Not.
And make an entire nation dependent on the world’s wealthiest man, who is openly attenpting to buy state elections (i.e. Wisconsin)? Why is that a good idea?