Federal Bill of the Month — August 2024

PROTOCOL Act – To Harmonize Broadband Deployment and Funding Maps Between Agencies 

Primary Sponsors: Reps. August Pfluger (R-Texas) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.)

PROTOCOL Act:

This bill, as introduced by Reps. August Pfluger (R-Texas) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) enhance and align the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Broadband Deployment Locations Map with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Infrastructure Funding Database. By aligning these maps, PROTOCOL would provide a searchable and filterable database for national broadband investments.

This database will also ensure that interested stakeholders have access to needed information on deployment in their area. It will also support government officials when making decisions about grants and infrastructure. PROTOCOL adds much-needed transparency and efficiency to this process. 

Background:

Over the past decade, the federal government has spent billions of taxpayer dollars supporting broadband deployment and access. Despite these massive expenditures, fragmentation in programs spanning across 15 federal agencies has not closed the digital divide and has created an ecosystem ripe for waste, fraud, and abuse. In May 2022, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report that found there are more than 100 separate federal broadband programs that have received $44 billion in taxpayer money from 2015 to 2020. Just a year later, GAO identified more than 133 funding programs, with 25 having broadband as their main purpose and 13 of them overlapping. Simply put, more coordination and transparency is needed for agencies to effectively utilize resources, for Congress to provide ample oversight, and for stakeholders to identify truly unserved communities.

With states receiving their portion of the $42.5 billion authorized under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, it is critical that their efforts to close the digital divide are included in the PROTOCOL Map to further prevent duplication. Every state receiving BEAD funding has designated an agency to lead deployment of these funds, and 35 states have created a broadband program authority.  As such, the PROTOCOL Act empowers the FCC to request non-mandatory reports on state-based programs, including a list of locations where the program made broadband service available, and a list of awards issued by the state.

It is for these reasons, among many others, that TPA is proud to make the PROTOCOL Act, as introduced by Reps. August Pfluger and Debbie Dingell, its bill of the month for August 2024.