[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 69 (Monday, April 20, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H2971-H2973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPEDITING FEDERAL BROAD-
BAND DEPLOYMENT REVIEWS ACT
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1681) to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Communications and Information to establish an interagency strike force
to ensure that certain Federal land management agencies, including the
organizational units of such agencies, prioritize the review of
requests for communications use authorizations, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1681
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Expediting Federal Broadband
Deployment Reviews Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY STRIKE FORCE.
(a) Interagency Strike Force.--
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall
establish an interagency strike force to ensure that each
Federal land management agency, including each organizational
unit of the agency, prioritizes the review of requests for
communications use authorizations.
(2) Members.--The strike force shall be composed of--
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(A) the Assistant Secretary;
(B) the head of each Federal land management agency;
(C) a designee of the Secretary of Agriculture, other than
the Chief of the Forest Service; and
(D) a designee of the Secretary of the Interior, other than
the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
(3) Duties.--The duties of the strike force shall include--
(A) conducting periodic calls between the members of the
strike force to ensure that each Federal land management
agency, including each organizational unit of the agency,
prioritizes the review of requests for communications use
authorizations;
(B) establishing objective and reasonable goals for the
review of requests for communications use authorizations; and
(C) monitoring, and facilitating the accountability of,
each Federal land management agency, including each
organizational unit of the agency, with respect to meeting
such goals.
(4) Report to congress.--Not later than 270 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report on the effectiveness of the strike force in ensuring
that each Federal land management agency, including each
organizational unit of the agency, prioritizes the review of
requests for communications use authorizations.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives;
(B) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives;
(C) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the
Senate;
(E) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives; and
(F) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
of the Senate.
(2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary''
means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications
and Information.
(3) Communications facility.--The term ``communications
facility'' has the meaning given the term ``communications
facility installation'' in section 6409(d) of the Middle
Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C.
1455(d)).
(4) Communications use.--The term ``communications use''
means the placement and operation of a communications
facility.
(5) Communications use authorization.--The term
``communications use authorization'' means an easement,
right-of-way, lease, license, or other authorization--
(A) provided by a Federal land management agency;
(B) to locate or modify a communications facility on
covered land; and
(C) for the primary purpose of authorizing the occupancy
and use of such land for communications use.
(6) Covered land.--The term ``covered land'' means--
(A) public lands; and
(B) National Forest System land.
(7) Federal land management agency.--The term ``Federal
land management agency'' means each of the following:
(A) The Bureau of Land Management.
(B) The Forest Service.
(8) National forest system.--The term ``National Forest
System'' has the meaning given that term in section 11(a) of
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of
1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
(9) Organizational unit.--The term ``organizational unit''
means--
(A) with respect to the Bureau of Land Management--
(i) a State office;
(ii) a regional office;
(iii) a district office; or
(iv) a field office; and
(B) with respect to the Forest Service--
(i) a regional office;
(ii) a management unit; or
(iii) a ranger district office.
(10) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the
meaning given that term in section 103 of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).
(11) Strike force.--The term ``strike force'' means the
interagency strike force established under subsection (a)(1).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Allen) and the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. McClellan)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
General Leave
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and insert extraneous material into the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1681, the Expediting
Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, sponsored by Representatives
Evans and Craig.
This legislation establishes an interagency strike force to help
prioritize permitting reviews for deploying broadband on Federal lands.
Broadband has become an essential part of everyday life. We need
broadband for work, to stay connected with loved ones, and even for
healthcare and education. However, too many Americans still lack access
to broadband. Thus, Congress has provided billions of dollars to ensure
that every American gets connected.
Deploying on Federal lands is a critical part of closing the digital
divide. Many unserved communities are near Federal lands, and thus
broadband providers must transverse these lands to reach these unserved
homes and businesses.
Unfortunately, deploying broadband on Federal lands can be
burdensome, particularly when it comes to the permitting process.
Providers have testified that this complicated process moves slowly,
and they are often left in the dark on the status of their
applications. As a result, unserved communities are left without the
broadband they need as providers wait for agencies to approve their
permits.
We need to reform the broadband permitting process. Not only do we
need to streamline how we review permits, we need to ensure the
agencies that manage Federal lands prioritize these reviews. H.R. 1681,
the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, will help
ensure this happens.
H.R. 1681 directs the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration to create an interagency strike force that includes the
head of each Federal land management agency to ensure that they are
prioritizing the review of broadband-permitting applications. In
addition to holding periodic calls, the strike force will establish
goals for the review of the requests, and monitor and hold each agency
accountable for these goals.
This strike force is necessary to expedite the permitting process so
that every American has access to broadband.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, I thank the
sponsors, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. McCLELLAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1681, the Expediting Federal
Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, which was introduced by
Representatives Craig and Evans.
When communications providers deploy broadband infrastructure,
efficiency is critical to stretching their capital investments as far
and to as many homes and businesses as possible. In the course of
developing and comparing different ways to carry out a project,
providers may determine that the most direct route to lay broadband
infrastructure requires traversing lands owned and managed by the
Federal Government.
At the Energy and Commerce Committee, we have heard testimony from
witnesses and hearings about delays and inefficiencies handling permit
applications that are pending at the various agencies overseeing
Federal lands. While environmental and historic preservation
protections will always be of paramount importance to me, we should
always strive to ensure that our agencies operate as efficiently as
possible.
With H.R. 1681, Congress can ensure agencies dispense with
applications to deploy communications infrastructure more quickly,
where no additional environmental or historic preservation due
diligence is required.
This bill requires the administrator of the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, to
establish an interagency strike force that will improve collaboration
between NTIA and the agencies and departments responsible for reviewing
and approving communications use applications.
Our intent is for NTIA to bring relevant parties together to identify
obstacles and inefficiencies that have slowed progress in the past and
collaborate on solutions to address these barriers going forward. This
will ultimately expedite the deployment of
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broadband infrastructure to the rural and remote areas that are still
most in need.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Evans) to speak on the bill.
Mr. EVANS of Colorado. Madam Speaker, today I rise in strong support
of my bipartisan bill, the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment
Reviews Act. This legislation, which I am proud to lead with my
colleague from Minnesota, will help streamline broadband permitting to
help deliver fast, reliable internet to the communities that need it
most by creating a new system for prioritizing broadband deployment
requests on or across Federal land.
It is a commonsense piece of legislation that, as we have heard,
directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
to establish a strike force to support Federal land management
agencies' review of requests to deploy broadband across and through
Federal land.
My home State of Colorado is the heart of the Rocky Mountain West
with more than 24 million acres of Federal land, which is about the
size of Indiana. Roughly 36 percent of the total acreage of Colorado is
Federal land, and it serves countless roles, from conservation and
recreation to other activities. These diverse uses also mean that
multiple agencies have jurisdiction over these 24 million acres from
the National Park Service to the United States Forest Service to the
Bureau of Land Management. These agencies often have duplicative or
redundant permitting processes which can delay what should be a simple
permit.
In all parts of Colorado, from the Front Range to the Western Slope,
rural communities are often surrounded by Federal lands which means
they face greater difficulty building out infrastructure, including
broadband. These are the communities that are often left behind when it
comes to critical service such as internet access and easy
communication.
It is 2026. Reliable, high-speed internet should not be considered a
luxury. It is a necessity. Families, students, and small businesses
need to be able to easily access this important service.
As a cop for 10 years, I also know that law enforcement and public
safety rely on broadband access to promptly identify and interdict
threats in our communities and respond to natural disasters. Without
these reliable services, public safety operations are going to be less
coordinated, which causes first responders to face delays and
disorganization.
{time} 1630
By law, Federal agencies are required to grant or deny broadband
applications within 270 days, but these deadlines are often missed. The
U.S. Government Accountability Office recently reported that roughly
half of the communications use applications submitted to BLM and the
United States Forest Service from 2018 to 2022 either exceeded the 270-
day deadline or didn't have enough information to reveal whether the
deadline had even been met.
As a result, broadband developers report that deploying fiber in
rural areas can take an average of 5 to 10 years to complete. This is
completely unacceptable, and it is a complete slap in the face to rural
communities that are already underserved.
I am proud to serve as a leading voice for permitting reform in this
Congress, not just for broadband but for many other types of permits,
such as energy generation and distribution, that rely on broadband.
Madam Speaker, this legislation is key to fixing our broken
permitting process. I am proud that it is bipartisan. I am proud that
it is common sense. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in
supporting this bill.
Ms. McCLELLAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time
to close.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 1681,
the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms.
McClellan) for her support of this important legislation. I, too, urge
a ``yes'' vote on this important bill, H.R. 1681, for immediate
approval.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 1681.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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