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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The House Energy & Commerce panel dives into network security today as lawmakers raise alarms over Chinese tech increasingly woven into U.S. networks. But efforts to root out equipment from foreign adversaries like Huawei and ZTE are hitting roadblocks, with telecoms decrying Congress’ failure to fully fund a Federal Communications Commission rip-and-replace program.
A familiar boogeyman will be the main target of today’s House Energy & Commerce subcommittee hearing: China. The chamber’s subcommittee on communications and technology will review a slew of bills meant to bolster the nation’s telecom network from foreign adversaries, providing an opportunity for lawmakers to garner support for their own policy proposals. Readers can expect lots of talk on programs like rip-and-replace and the lack of funding Congress has allocated to those efforts.
An ESPN/Warner Bros. Discover/Fox partnership creating a sports streaming platform is a further nail in the coffin of the traditional video programming bundle, video industry experts say. GlobalData analyst Tammy Parker said Tuesday it is "a blockbuster deal that will further decimate the traditional US pay-TV sector."
As live sports content continues what many see as an inexorable move to streaming, traditional pay TV is left in an increasingly tighter spot and the future of such deals is in limbo, media and sports industry experts tell us. The future of sports league and team deals with broadcasters is seen as more stable. House Communications Subcommittee members at a Wednesday hearing repeatedly highlighted sports programming's move from traditional pay TV to streaming services, at times expressing frustration with rising prices and fragmented access to games.
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).
US lawmakers say they’re fighting back against the rise of artificial intelligence-powered scams and fraud with new legislation to overhaul the nation’s robocall rules.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, CongresswomanDoris Matsui (CA-07),Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, introduced the Stop Scams and Spam Act, legislation that would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop a tracking system to monitor and publish the top 100 illegal robocall and robotext campaigns.
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.