In The News

The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee in the 118th Congress has new leadership and members. Below we offer a brief look at the broadband priorities for this key panel.

The subcommittee has jurisdiction over “electronic communications, both interstate and foreign, including voice, video, audio and data, whether transmitted by wire or wirelessly, and whether transmitted by telecommunications, commercial or private mobile service, broadcast, cable, satellite, microwave, or other modes; technology generally; emergency and public safety communications; cybersecurity, privacy, and data security; the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)."

Although a good deal of work is done at the subcommittee level, legislation must be approved by the full Commerce Committee which is led by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ-6), the chair and ranking member respectively. Rep. McMorris Rodgers has served on the Commerce Committee since 2010 and has been part of House Republican Leadership for 10 years as Vice Chair and Chair of the House Republican Conference. She believes broadband is "basic infrastructure in today’s 21st Century economy." Her main focus has been on collecting accurate data about the areas that have access and where we need to improve. She was a co-sponsor of the Broadband Data Improvement Act of 2019. In 2021, then-Chairman Pallone championed the Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow’s America Act, or LIFT America Act. LIFT proposed nearly $100 billion to ensure broadband networks reached everyone in the U.S. and people had the skills and means to adopt the technology. 


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Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA-12) is also new to the Commerce Committee. "I am thrilled to begin serving on the House Energy and Commerce Committee," he said. "I look forward to working with my fellow members to continue fighting for policies to unleash American energy, reduce health care costs, and bring high-speed internet to rural America." In January, Rep. Allen joined the entire Georgia Congressional delegation in a letter to the FCC asking for an extension for challenges to the new national broadband map.