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| Science & Technology |
| Assistant Commerce Sec. Arielle Roth: Trump Admin Transformed Biden's Broadband ‘Boondoggle' [$42B] into Massive Savings |
| 2025-12-03 |
| Arielle Roth [Breitbart] President Joe Biden and congressional democrats established the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program with the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Despite the program’s generous funding, the program became infamous for failing to expand internet access during Biden’s term in office. Now, Roth said in her speech, the Trump administration “transformed BEAD from a boondoggle built on unlawful rules into a genuine success for the American people.” “We’re projecting about $21 billion in savings, thanks to our efforts to cut red tape, expand participation, and redirect the program to its core mission of universal, cost-effective connectivity,” Roth told Breitbart News in a written statement. Roth remarked, “These successes are thanks to a surge in participation. Providers who sat out under hostile, burdensome rules came back to the table, strengthening competition and improving value for taxpayers.” “States, freed from one-size-fits-all mandates, could evaluate projects on a granular basis and select those that truly fit their needs,” Roth continued. “Indeed, our results show huge diversity in state technology mixes—both within and across states—reflecting the realities of our country’s geographic, topographic, and population density differences, as well as our guiding principle of market-driven technological innovation.” She continued in her speech, “NTIA has been working around the clock to approve as many states as possible by year’s end.” “Last month, we announced 18 approvals, with Texas and West Virginia following soon thereafter. Today, we are adding 9 more to the list: South Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. I am thrilled by this momentum and eager to complete the remaining reviews,” Roth announced. “We saw the consequences of distorted investment with the prior administration’s fiber mandate. Preferencing a single technology doesn’t just waste money; it can stifle innovation and undermine America’s leadership in critical emerging sectors. And in a world where technological dominance and national security go hand in hand, domestic policies shouldn’t be viewed in a vacuum. Policies that handicap American companies don’t just limit connectivity but have real international consequences, especially as other countries seek to follow our lead,” Roth emphasized. “Our approach to the BEAD savings will complement the program and reflect the same principles that made the reforms successful. We haven’t made any decisions yet but stay tuned. We’ll have much more to share in early 2026,” she concluded in her speech to the Free State Foundation. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |