MATSUI RELEASES NEW FCC STATE-BY-STATE DATA ON RIP AND REPLACE PROGRAM

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, CongresswomanDoris Matsui (CA-07),Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, released new, updated state-by-state data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on theSecure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (SCRP).

Previous data from the FCC was attributed to the location of a company’s corporate headquarters rather than the location of actual project sites – leading to a misrepresentation of the nationwide distribution of projects.  The data is available HERE. 

“The data I requested from the FCC is crystal clear: there is an alarming amount of vulnerable gear in American telecommunications networks affecting nearly every single state in the country. As an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Secure and Trusted Networks Act, I believe it is a national security imperative that we immediately remove every last piece of this vulnerable equipment,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “These networks carry our personal, financial, and sensitive health information. Allowing China to maintain a backdoor into our infrastructure is flat out unacceptable. I have continually sounded the alarm on the severity of this threat – and this data shows exactly why addressing this funding shortfall needs to be a bipartisan, nationwide priority for all of my colleagues. It is absolutely critical that we finish the job as soon as possible.”

"CCA commends Congresswoman Matsui for her continued leadership on this important national security issue," said Competitive Carriers Association President & CEO Tim Donovan. "Recent Committee activity has highlighted the broad, bipartisan interest in fully funding the reimbursement program, and I hope that this updated data helps demonstrate the broad and urgent need to finally address this issue across America." 

Congresswoman Matsui is the co-author of the bipartisan Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, which was passed in 2020. The legislation reaffirmed a bipartisan commitment to protect America’s communications networks’ supply chain and worked to prohibit Huawei, ZTE and other equipment from threatening America’s telecommunications networks by establishing the SCRP. While Congress appropriated $1.9 billion to the SCRP, the FCC has approved reimbursements for approximately $5 billion in projects – a significant funding shortfall.

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