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A bipartisan group of over 40 members of Congress, led by U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Representative Terese Leger Fernández (D-N.M.), have called on Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to fully implement the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program as originally intended by Congress.
The lawmakers expressed strong opposition to the Department of Commerce’s recently announced BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice, arguing it undermines the program’s goal of connecting nearly 25 million Americans to high-quality, affordable internet.
The BEAD program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, aims to provide high-quality, affordable, and sustainable broadband access across the United States. Lawmakers emphasized that “Access to affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband is essential to full participation in modern life in the United States,” and the program was designed to ensure “the benefits of broadband should be broadly enjoyed by all.”
In their letter to Secretary Lutnick, the lawmakers stated, “We urge you to ensure that states receive the full funding and flexibility they retained prior to the issuance of the restructuring notice to fully meet these statutory objectives.”
They said that the restructuring notice violates the statutory requirement for funding recipients to “ensure coverage of broadband service to all unserved locations” before using funds for other purposes, particularly by allowing applicants to exclude certain unserved locations. They argue this defies bipartisan congressional intent, which recognized the need for public investment in costly rural infrastructure.
The lawmakers also said that the new policy could lead to worse service for some recipients. They highlighted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s requirement for “priority broadband projects” to meet specific criteria for speed, latency, reliability and scalability, emphasizing that “fiber-optic networks are faster and more reliable and can scale speeds much more easily.” They said that the original intent was to invest in resilient broadband infrastructure for decades to come.
The letter also criticized the restructuring notice for undermining provisions aimed at ensuring affordable broadband and effective use of services. It noted the removal of specific requirements for low-cost internet options for low-income customers and the suspension of previously approved “non-deployment activities,” such as a South Carolina plan to use BEAD funds for virtual primary health services. The lawmakers warned that if the broadband infrastructure built by BEAD funds is not fully utilized, much of the investment could be wasted.
The lawmakers concluded by urging Lutnick to implement the BEAD program “in accordance with the best reading of the statute so we can make high-quality internet accessible and affordable for all Americans,” fearing that the restructuring notice could “squander” this opportunity to close the digital divide.
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