Innovation and Technology
Congresswoman Matsui believes that there are enormous opportunities in Sacramento to spur the innovation economy. She has supported policies that ensure multiple sectors of our economy – from health care, to clean energy, to technology – are prospering as the region continues to grow.<br />\
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With the growth of technology in health care, Congresswoman Matsui has advocated for policies that spur innovation in the telehealth space, while also protecting patients. The Congresswoman has introduced the bipartisan Telehealth Modernization Act to create a workable federal definition for telehealth services, in order to set a common set of principles to guide the establishment and revision of state telehealth laws. She is also a leading member of the bipartisan Energy & Commerce Telehealth Working Group, which is working to advance telehealth policies within the Medicare program.<br />\
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As Co-Chair of the High Tech Caucus and a member of the Energy & Commerce Communications & Technology Subcommittee, Congresswoman Matsui is working to address the pressing tech issues of today and tomorrow while increasing the accessibility and affordability of communications services. During her time in Congress, the Congresswoman has continuously advocated for policies that allow our wireless economy to grow. As Congresswoman Matsui likes to say, the airwaves, known as spectrum, are the invisible infrastructure of our mobile society. Congresswoman Matsui champions an all of the above approach to improve the efficiency of how we use this finite resource – everything from creating new opportunities for WiFi to improving the way the federal government uses spectrum. For example, the Federal Spectrum Incentive Act of 2015 will ensure consumers can make wireless connections on their smartphones, tablets, and devices now and into the future – and give federal agencies the opportunity to improve their missions. The legislation won unanimous approval from the House Energy & Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee in 2015.<br />\
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As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Co-Chair of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), Congresswoman Matsui has made it a top priority to bring clean energy technology to Sacramento and transform the city into a global leader in the sector. From securing a $127.5 million grant for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to modernizing the electric grid through the installation of SmartGrid, to advocating for a California Rural Home Mortgage Finance Authority Homebuyers Fund (CHF) home retrofit loan program, the Congresswoman continues to support forward-thinking clean energy policies that help our economy and the environment.<br />\
<h2>Accomplishments</h2>\
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<li>Three pieces of legislation authored by Congresswoman Matsui were included in House Democrats’ Make It In America Plan to promote manufacturing and innovation in America.</li>\
<li>Helped secure over $300 million in American Recovery & Reinvestment Act funds for energy efficiency programs, research and development and job training. Including $127.5 for SMUD’s Smart Grid deployment.</li>\
<li>Won unanimous approval from the House Energy & Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee for the Federal Spectrum Incentive Act of 2015, a bill to free up more airwaves so that consumers can make wireless connections on their smartphones, tablets, and devices now and into the future.\
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<li>Advocated to increase access to telemedicine through leadership on the Energy & Commerce Committee Telehealth Working Group.<br />\
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<h2>Legislation</h2>\
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<li>H.R. 1888, Federal Spectrum Incentive Act</li>\
<li>H.R. 1576 Innovation Corps Act of 2017</li>\
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The FCC will continue updating Congress about the affordable connectivity program's status in hopes of convincing lawmakers for money to keep it running, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters Thursday after the commissioners’ open meeting (see 2401250064). The FCC expects the initiative will exhaust its $14.2 billion allocation in April. The Wireline Bureau said earlier this month it would freeze new enrollments Feb. 8 as part of the program's wind-down process (see 2401110072).
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., is considering attaching an amendment to a pending national security supplemental spending bill that would allocate $3.08 billion to fully fund the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, communications officials and lobbyists said in interviews. Telecom-focused lawmakers are still eyeing FY 2024 appropriations bills as vehicles for allocating rip-and-replace money, and some are pushing to keep using a spectrum legislative package to pay for it.
NTIA’s administration of the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (Wireless Innovation Fund) drew criticism from some House Communications Subcommittee Republicans during a Thursday hearing over concerns the agency was slow to use it to aid development of U.S. open radio access networks (see 2401160068). Subpanel Democrats conversely eyed whether Congress should allocate additional funding to the NTIA initiative for ORAN use.
House Communications Subcommittee members again raised concerns about the impact the FCC Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program’s $3.08 billion funding shortfall is having on removing suspect gear from U.S. networks, as expected (see 2401100072). Their concerns came during a hearing Thursday.
Rolanda Hayden may owe her job to a fast home internet connection — and a benefit from Washington that lets her afford it.
Lead Republican lawmakers’ recent charge that the FCC was “deeply misleading” about the affordable connectivity program’s efficacy (see 2312150068) has solidified perceptions on and off Capitol Hill that it will be extremely difficult to reach a deal allocating additional money before the initiative's funding runs out next year, lobbyists and observers told us. Estimates peg ACP as likely to exhaust its initial $14.2 billion tranche from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act during the first half of 2024 (see 2309210060).
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), co-authors of the Creating Helpful Incentives for the Production of Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act, issued the following statement after the first CHIPS Act Preliminary Memorandum of Terms was issued by the Commerce Department.
Lawmakers are beginning to talk about how to pivot from the House Commerce Committee-approved Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (HR-3565) text as Capitol Hill continues digesting findings of DOD's study about the potential effects commercial 5G use of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band will have on incumbent military systems (see 2311290001), lawmakers and lobbyists told us.