Senate Communications Leads Seek GAO Review of Federal, State, Local Broadband Programs

Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., asked the GAO Monday to review the effectiveness of federal, state and local broadband programs. They cited the results of a 2022 GAO study that found there’s no cohesive federal broadband strategy to guide the work of more than 100 federal connectivity programs (see 2206010068). Lujan and then-Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., subsequently filed the Proper Leadership to Align Networks (Plan) for Broadband Act to require the Biden administration to develop a national broadband strategy (see 2208040064). The GAO should “build upon” the findings of its 2022 study by determining “the effectiveness of each” federal, state and local broadband initiative, Lujan and Thune said in a letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. The study should ask whether each of the federal broadband programs “were established in line with Congress’ directive on the funding’s intended purpose.” They want GAO to determine whether the programs meet specific policy goals, the extent to which they overlap and how that affects each initiative’s success. The lawmakers want to know whether the FCC, NTIA, and the Agriculture and Treasury departments fulfilled agreements they made in a May 9 memorandum of understanding adopted in response to the GAO’s previous report and whether federal agencies have coordinated with state and local broadband programs. “Addressing weaknesses in each of these broadband programs will help ensure more Americans are connected to reliable broadband services,” Lujan and Thune said. GAO didn’t comment.