Technology
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.<br />\
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Almost one third of Americans have not adopted broadband at home – and the cost of subscribing to service is most often the highest barrier preventing non-adopters from fully participating in our digital economy. As a result, these Americans are at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to employment, education, and other opportunities. The Congresswoman authored the first piece of federal legislation to address this problem by expanding the Lifeline program, a program that has helped low income Americans get telephone service since President Reagan’s Administration, to cover broadband access. <br />\
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Congresswoman Matsui has also been a champion of net neutrality and ensuring our nation has a free and open Internet. She has authored legislation that would prohibit so-called Internet fast lanes from harming consumers, small businesses and innovators.<br />\
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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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<h2>Accomplishments</h2>\
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<li>Fought for the adoption of strong net neutrality rules by the FCC, so that every American, innovator, and small business has equal access to an open Internet. Congresswoman Matsui’s Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act, a bill to prevent fast and slow lanes online, was incorporated into the FCC’s final net neutrality decision.</li>\
<li>Congresswoman Matsui’s Broadband Adoption Act (H.R. 2638) to make Internet access more affordable for low-income families through the FCC’s Lifeline Program was included in House Democrats’ Make It in America Plan. In 2016 the FCC adopted Congresswoman Matsui’s recommendation to expand the Lifeline program to support broadband.<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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It's long been taken for granted that California, and Sacramento in particular, can't be competitive in attracting manufacturing jobs, with its high costs and expensive regulations.
But since the passage of the federal CHIPS Act spurred a boom in investment in the American microchip industry, Sacramento has done pretty well in attracting its share of that money.
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The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed three bills to the House floor Thursday that will reauthorize the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, direct the agency to conduct a feasibility assessment of a trans-Atlantic fiber optic cable, and conduct a study on accountability measures for artificial intelligence.