WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) in pushing back against the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) proposal to reinstate Obama-era broadband regulations. In a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the senators warned that reviving these burdensome regulations would have devastating impacts on the free market, which would lead to fewer choices and slower speeds for broadband customers.
“Our country faces real challenges,” the senators wrote. “A lack of public-utility regulations for the internet is not one of them. Instead, the FCC and the Biden administration should be focusing on bipartisan efforts to address real problems, such as addressing rampant waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government’s broadband subsidy programs, and regulatory and permitting obstacles to broadband deployment, both of which divert funds and resources from the goal of connecting unserved Americans.”
Complete text of the letter can be viewed here.
Also joining the letter are U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tim Scott (R-SC), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Rick Scott (R-FL), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jim Risch (R-ID), Todd Young (R-IN), James Lankford (R-OK), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Budd (R-NC), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Katie Britt (R-AL), Mike Rounds (R- SD), John Boozman (R-AR), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mike Lee (R-UT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Rand Paul (R-KY), Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Deb Fischer (R-NE).
BACKGROUND
As Alabama’s voice on the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (AG) Committee, Senator Tuberville has championed expanding broadband access for rural and agriculture communities. He has made that one of his 2023 Farm Bill priorities, because he understands the importance of reliable internet access for successful farming operations.
Earlier this year, Senator Tuberville was named Ranking Member of the AG Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy. His first hearing as Ranking Member focused on expanding broadband access for rural areas, with discussions revolving around streamlining the application and permitting process, service speeds, broadband deployment infrastructure, and prioritizing internet access to rural communities.
To build on his work to expand broadband, Senator Tuberville also helped introduce the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act to ensure federal grant funding for rural broadband deployment cannot be considered as taxable income under the Internal Revenue Code.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
###
