Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2399, the Rural Broadband Protection Act. This legislation would direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a process to more thoroughly vet internet service providers participating in the Universal Service Fund's high-cost program. I have long advocated for reforms to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the high-cost program. Following an investigation by Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats in 2017, we requested that the Government Accountability Office open its own inquiry into reports of abuse of high-cost support. In a scathing report, GAO detailed a remarkable lack of oversight by the FCC, as well as the need for greater accountability to ensure precious USF dollars are spent on the mission of deploying high-speed broadband to unserved and underserved communities. Since then, we have seen modest progress to curb waste, fraud, and abuse in the high-cost program, but more accountability is needed. I commend Representatives Kelly and Houchin for their work on this legislation and appreciate their commitment to protecting unserved and underserved communities in need of high-speed connectivity. However, I must note that this legislation was not considered as part of the Energy and Commerce Committee's typical regular order process.…”