Jessica Rosenworcel

We are also implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act to ensure that the rates for prison pay phone calls are truly just and reasonable.

I want to acknowledge that the Emergency Connectivity Fund, championed by Chairman Van Hollen, has also been instrumental in closing the digital divide.

We have come too far to turn back. Keeping this program funded needs to be a priority.

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today, and for providing full funding for the FCC in your fiscal year 2024 bill.

What you have to be mindful of, is some State laws prevent some of those municipal deployments.

I think we have got to make sure that we figure out a way to get broadband to everyone in this country.

We want to make sure that Congress continues to fund this program.

Following Hurricane Ida, Commissioner Carr and I went down to Louisiana... it needed to be mandatory.

I just want to be able to hold them to account.

One of the things that I would like us to be able to do is to take the TRACED back consortium that this committee made available in the TRACED Act, which is a group of carriers that actually identify junk calls on the line.

We need to make sure the Affordable Connectivity Program speaks to those families as well as those who have never been online.

We need to go to the World Radio Conference this year with full spectrum authority. We need to lead at that conference and lead the world on these matters.

I look forward to that day coming sooner rather than later.

With the pandemic behind us, it has become clear that broadband is no longer just nice to have, it is need to have for everyone everywhere.

If we want broad economic growth and widespread mobile opportunity, we need to avoid unnecessary delays in the State and local approval process.

If I had a magic wand, I would make it simpler.

I have developed something called the Broadband Funding Map using $10 million in direct appropriations set aside in the IIJA.

I signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Commerce because they have a lot of programs like BEAD.

We need an additional $3.08 billion to fully take that equipment out securely.

I want to thank the Subcommittee for supporting our ability to do this by approving the Commission's request earlier this year to establish the Space Bureau.

I strongly support identifying a way to fund the Affordable Connectivity Program into the future to help more families get and stay connected to the high-speed Internet they need to participate in modern life.

This one-time effort developed during the early days of the pandemic was designed to assist students and library patrons with access to connections and devices.

We are also implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act to ensure that the rates for prison pay phone calls are truly just and reasonable.

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today, and for providing full funding for the FCC in your fiscal year 2024 bill.

I want to acknowledge that the Emergency Connectivity Fund, championed by Chairman Van Hollen, has also been instrumental in closing the digital divide.