U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and John Thune (R-SD) have asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the effectiveness of federal, state, and local broadband programs.
The request by the senators follows a GAO report that found overlapping and fragmented federal efforts to deploy broadband services.
“A recent GAO report uncovered that ‘federal broadband efforts are fragmented and overlapping, with more than 100 programs administered by 15 agencies,’” the senators wrote. “We appreciate GAO for its thoroughness and for the recommendations provided in this report, and we request that GAO build upon this work and conduct an additional review of federal, state, and local broadband efforts to determine the effectiveness of each program.”
Lujan is the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, while Thune is the ranking member.
They requested that the GAO answer a series of questions and provide recommendations on any actions Congress and the relevant agencies should take to improve the broadband regulatory structure.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter. GAO is an ally in Congress’ work to ensure federal programs work as intended. Addressing weaknesses in each of these broadband programs will help ensure more Americans are connected to reliable broadband services,” they added.
On a related note, Thune recently urged the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to revise or issue a new notice of funding opportunity for the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment Program to connect unserved Americans more efficiently.