Vice President Kamala Harris is under fire for reportedly mismanaging a $42 billion program to expand the Internet.
In a letter, Republican senators accuse “Broadband Czar” Harris of mirroring her performance as “Border Czar” and failing to deliver promises on delivering broadband to rural areas. Ranking member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has accused Harris of prioritizing the Biden Administration’s woke agenda to impose its climate change mandates on infrastructure projects, government-owned networks over private investment, mandating the use of unionized labor in states and sought to regulate broadband rates.
The letter further alleges Harris of misusing limited taxpayer dollars despite vowing that the administration’s $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program would deliver broadband services to unserved areas.
In 2021, you were specifically tasked by President Biden to lead the administration’s efforts to expand broadband services to unserved Americans. And at the time, you stated, “We can bring broadband to rural America today.” Despite your assurances over three years ago, rural and unserved communities continue to wait for the connectivity they were promised. Under your leadership, not a single person has been connected to the internet using the $42.45 billion allocated for the BEAD program. Indeed, Politico recently reported on “the messy, delayed rollout of” this program.
Instead of focusing on delivering broadband services to unserved areas, your administration has used the BEAD program to add partisan, extralegal requirements that were never envisioned by Congress and have obstructed broadband deployment. By imposing burdensome climate change mandates on infrastructure projects, prioritizing government-owned networks over private investment, mandating the use of unionized labor in states, and seeking to regulate broadband rates, your administration has caused unnecessary delays leaving millions of Americans unconnected.
Brendan Carr, Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, pointed out that after 1,038 days of the Biden-Harris Administration being in office, “Not a single person has been connected to the internet using the $42.45 billion.”
In addition, the Biden-Harris Administration has provided no information on how the $42 billion was spent. This has been the largest single investment in U.S. history for the Internet, and zero people, homes, and businesses have been connected.
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— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) September 18, 2024
Senators write Vice President Kamala Harris over her mismanagement of a $42 billion program to expand Internet.
After 1️⃣,0️⃣3️⃣8️⃣ days “not a single person has been connected to the internet using the $42.45 billion.” pic.twitter.com/F6RUBgoNwq
The letter was also signed by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).