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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Several telecom-focused congressional leaders told us they’re more seriously considering directly appropriating $3.08 billion to fully close the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program funding shortfall amid the ongoing stall in talks on a spectrum legislative package that top lawmakers long hoped could pay for the additional funding (see 2311010001).
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., and other backers of his Senate-passed 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement Act (S-2787) are resuming their push for the House to pass the measure now that the chamber has resolved the leadership crisis that halted all legislative activity for most of October. The measure’s backers believe its enactment may be the easiest way to blunt the short-term effects of the FCC losing its spectrum auction authority, a lapse that began almost eight months ago.
The Biden administration’s Wednesday request for Congress to appropriate an additional $6 billion to fully fund the FCC’s affordable connectivity program (ACP) through the end of 2024 (see 2310250075) is drawing initial skepticism from top telecom-focused Republicans amid their push for the commission to be more transparent about how it has been spending the program’s existing $14.2 billion allocation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-07), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee,issued the following statement after the White House released their domestic supplemental funding request.
The FCC's abdicating its internet oversight authority in 2017 largely neutered the agency's ability
to protect online privacy and to require ISPs to address lengthy outages, Chairwoman Jessica
Rosenworcel said Tuesday as she announced the agency was moving to take that authority back.
Reclassification of broadband as a service under Title II would end having to often jury-rig legal
justifications for actions the agency is taking, she said, saying October's agenda will include a
The 2024 presidential election shouldn’t, and likely won’t, deter FCC Democrats from moving forward on their policy agenda now that they're on the cusp of a 3-2 majority well over two years into President Joe Biden’s term, said lawmakers and former commission officials in interviews. Many expect a flurry of FCC activity once Democrat Anna Gomez, confirmed by the Senate earlier this month, formally signs on as a commissioner 2309070081).
The House Energy and Commerce tech subcommittee today will convene broadband experts
from the public and private sectors to discuss the effectiveness and future of key federal
broadband funding programs.
The hearing comes as one major funding program meant to close the digital divide is expected to
run dry in the coming months, and as a second faces legal challenges.
— Funding concerns loom: One of those funds is the Affordable Connectivity Program, which
House Communications Subcommittee members in both parties used a Wednesday hearing to hammer the current retransmission consent negotiations process, particularly the blackouts when those talks break down, but all sides made clear a legislative solution is likely to take longer than the current Congress to pass.
Federal lawmakers this week expressed their frustration over rising cable and satellite television prices and numerous programming blackouts that have resulted in many of their constituents losing access to local news, network shows and live sports on pay TV systems several times over the last few years.