Political Quotes

“Mr. President, as a Senator from a rural State and a former chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, expanding broadband access to rural areas has long been a priority of mine. I have done a lot of work on this issue, which is precisely why I was so concerned when the infrastructure bill proposed $42 billion for rural broadband to be funneled through the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA. I was doubtful whether NTIA was capable of administering $42 billion, given its previous struggles to administer a fraction of that amount of money. And, unfortunately, those concerns have turned out to be well- founded. The Biden-Harris administration's signature broadband initiative and Vice President Harris's tenure as broadband czar have been nothing short of a disaster. It has been nearly 3 years since the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, or what we call the BEAD program, was established at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to provide broadband access to unserved communities. Three years. And in all that time, the program has not connected a single household to the internet. Let me say that again. It has been nearly 3 years--and to be precise, 1,044 days--since the BEAD program was established. And in all of that time--over 1,000 days--the program has not connected a single household to the internet. A logical question would be: Why?…”