[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 69 (Monday, April 20, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H2973-H2974]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERAL BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT TRACKING ACT
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 1343) to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Communications and Information to submit to Congress a plan for the
Assistant Secretary to track the acceptance, processing, and disposal
of certain Form 299s, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1343
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 ``Federal Broadband Deployment
Tracking Act''.
SEC. 2. PLAN FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY TO TRACK THE ACCEPTANCE,
PROCESSING, AND DISPOSAL OF CERTAIN FORM 299S.
(a) Plan.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall submit
to the appropriate congressional committees a plan containing
a description of--
(1) the process by which the Assistant Secretary proposes
to--
(A) track the acceptance, processing, and disposal of each
Form 299 for communications use authorization;
(B) provide applicants additional transparency with respect
to the status of the applicable Form 299 for communications
use authorization; and
(C) most expeditiously implement the plan; and
(2) any potential barriers to implementing the plan that
are identified by the Assistant Secretary.
(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; and
(B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
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 the Secretary of the Interior or the
Secretary of Agriculture;
(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 covered land for communications use.
(6) Covered land.--The term ``covered land'' means--
(A) public lands; and
(B) National Forest System land.
(7) Form 299.--The term ``Form 299'' means the form
established under section 6409(b)(2)(A) of the Middle Class
Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C.
1455(b)(2)(A)), or any successor form.
(8) National forest system.--The term ``National Forest
System'' has the meaning given the term in section 11(a) of
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of
1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)).
(9) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' means land
under the management of--
(A) the Bureau of Land Management;
(B) the National Park Service;
(C) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; or
(D) the Bureau of Reclamation.
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.
[[Page H2974]]
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 to insert extraneous materials in 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. 1343, the Federal
Broadband Deployment Tracking Act, sponsored by Representatives Pfluger
and Soto.
This bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration to develop a plan for tracking the broadband permitting
application on Federal lands.
Broadband is essential to participate in everyday activities. Most
Americans rely on their broadband connection for their work,
healthcare, education, and more.
Congress has provided billions of dollars to close the digital
divide. Indeed, NTIA is in the process of administering the BEAD
Program to connect every unserved and underserved American.
Too often, broadband deployment is delayed or prevented due to
unnecessary red tape in the form of burdensome permitting requirements.
Federal agencies are some of the biggest culprits behind this red tape,
delaying the deployment of broadband to the communities that most need
it.
The process of application and approval for some of these permits
has, unfortunately, become duplicative, ineffective, and time-
consuming. Worse, there is no transparency in this process.
Opaque Federal permitting review processes leave applicants in the
dark on whether their application is complete, where it is in the
review process, and when they can expect a final decision. This
uncertainty is not good for the planning of projects.
The Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act addresses these
concerns by requiring NTIA to develop a plan to improve the tracking of
Federal broadband permit applications. This plan would include a
process to give applicants transparency into the status of their
reviews, which would improve the speed and disposition of applications.
This is essential to provide clarity into the Federal permitting
process.
This is an important moment in time, and we must do all that we can
to ensure that every American can access reliable broadband.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I thank
the sponsors for their work on this bill.
Madam Speaker, 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. 1343, the Federal Broadband
Deployment Tracking Act.
It should come as no surprise that many of the communities lacking
internet access are rural, remote, and in sparsely populated areas.
Bringing this critical infrastructure to them will, in many cases,
require crossing large geographic areas. This is especially true in
many of our Western States, where significant amounts of territory are
owned and managed by the Federal Government.
In recent years, the Energy and Commerce Committee has heard
testimony about inefficiencies in Federal permitting. Specifically,
witnesses acknowledge difficulty accessing information about the status
and progress of applications to deploy communications infrastructure on
publicly owned and managed lands.
To help address these issues, H.R. 1343 requires NTIA, the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, to develop and
implement a plan to assist communication providers in navigating the
burdens of deploying communications infrastructure on public lands.
Ultimately, this bill should lead to more robust collaboration
between those responsible for reviewing permit applications for Federal
lands and the communication providers that are trying to bring high-
speed internet to all of our constituents.
I thank Representatives Soto and Pfluger for their leadership on this
issue. This bipartisan legislation is a product of regular order, and I
am pleased to see it taken up by the full House today.
Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, H.R.
1343, the Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia for
her support for H.R. 1343, and I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill. 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. 1343.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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