Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) has told the U.S. Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE) to shut down the $42 billion BEAD program. Ernst slammed BEAD in a letter to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, both of whom have been appointed by President-Elect Donald Trump as DOGE co-chairs. Trump formed DOGE as part of his campaign plans to slash federal spending.
Despite being called a department, DOGE is not actually a federal executive department as it would require an act of Congress to create, notes Data Center Dynamics. BEAD has come under fire from Republican lawmakers, reports Broadband Breakfast.
“President Biden’s so-called infrastructure program provided $42 billion to expand broadband. Three years later not a single person—not one—has been connected to the Internet yet. It’s time to pull the plug,” said Ernst in the letter.
Her comments come after Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) urged the NTIA to pause the program. The incoming Commerce Committee Chair warned there will be significant changes to BEAD’s implementation once Donald Trump begins his second term, Inside Towers reported.
“Under your leadership, NTIA has repeatedly ignored the text of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in administering the $42.45 billion BEAD program,” Cruz said in a letter to the NTIA. “I, therefore, urge NTIA to pause unlawful, extraneous BEAD activities and avoid locking states into any final actions until you provide a detailed, transparent response to my original inquiry and take immediate, measurable steps to address these issues,” Cruz continued.
Funding for the program is still in the process of being allocated on a state-by-state basis. Initial proposals for all 50 states have been approved, Inside Towers reported.
In response to comments Cruz made to NTIA in August, the NTIA said its Broadband Infrastructure Program has provided internet service to more than 40,000 previously underserved households, while the same program has laid more than 2,700 miles of new or upgraded fiber.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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