FCC Chair Brendan Carr began his testimony to members of a House Appropriations subcommittee yesterday with changes his agency has undertaken since January. He highlighted steps taken to “unleash” high-speed infrastructure builds.
“We have done so by making it easier for providers to retire aging, copper-line networks and invest resources into fast, modern ones instead. We also clarified that tower construction projects could proceed without going through additional and onerous review processes,” he said during the FCC oversight hearing.
Carr said the FCC has “taken steps to restore America’s leadership in wireless” and free up more spectrum for consumer use. He notes that’s important because “getting more spectrum into the commercial marketplace drives down prices for the American people, increases competition, and advances America’s national security interests.” He stressed the need for Congress to restore the FCC’s auction authority.
Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Chair Representative David Joyce (R-OH) and several other Republicans asked about the status of the “Rip & Replace” reimbursement program and whether the FCC needs more money than the $3 billion allocated to make up a funding shortfall. Carr said the money covers all of the shortfall except for one unnamed provider who was recently added to the program. The work to remove the untrusted Huawei and ZTE equipment should be removed from the networks of smaller rural providers in about a year, he explained.
Ashley Hinson (R-IA) asked what else the Commission is doing to secure communications networks other than Rip & Replace. Carr mentioned an item that’s teed up for a vote at today’s FCC meeting to strengthen requirements and oversight relating to telecommunications certification bodies, test labs, and accreditation bodies.
The meeting took a turn when two Maryland Democrats, Ranking Member Steny Hoyer and Glen Ivey, questioned Carr about the agency’s decision to approve the Verizon acquisition of Frontier hours after Verizon agreed to several changes in hiring, tower worker agreements and more. Ivey tried to get Carr to say if the FCC investigated whether there were racial discrimination allegations against Verizon in court or within its Human Resources department.
Ivey interrupted Carr several times, saying Carr was answering in generalities. Joyce banged his gavel and said, “asked and answered,” and recognized the next member for questions. Hoyer asked why there was no Commission level vote for “a relatively larger merger.” He also asked whether there was a discussion with the non-majority members before the vote.
Carr said it was a bureau vote, “done as a regular process.” He further explained that in the previous Democratic FCC, “Verizon said it would include and expand DEI [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.] We’re going back to ensure equal opportunity. What I’m focused on is if you’re intentionally discriminating, that’s a problem. We’re focused on intentional discrimination based on race and other characteristics.”
Carr also discussed how he’s trying to make the Commission more efficient. “At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025, the FCC employed 1,461 full-time employees. As of April 28, 2025, the FCC employed 1,383 full-time employees. The difference over the last six months can be attributed to many factors,” he said, “including FCC employees who took advantage of the early retirement window opened by my predecessor, the deferred resignation program offered by President Trump, and natural turnover.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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