House Energy and Commerce hearing spotlights BEED delays and partisan fight over implementation

Chairman (subcommittee) opened the March hearing by saying, “Closing the digital divide is a top priority for this committee,” and pressed for answers after multiple lawmakers and witnesses described lengthy BEED implementation delays.

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program (BEED), created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), authorizes $42,500,000,000 to connect unserved households. Several witnesses testified that states and providers have spent years preparing applications and proposals but that Commerce Department review and new administration action have frozen final awards. "States are on the 1 yard line," Sarah Morris, former acting deputy administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), told the committee, saying three states had completed the statutory process and more than half of states were reviewing bids from ISPs.

Why it matters: Members from both parties described BEED as a once-in-a-generation investment that could finally reach the hardest-to-serve locations. But witnesses and several Republican members said NTIA’s implementation choices — including labor and other administrative requirements — raised costs and deterred providers, while Democratic members warned that proposed rewrites could undercut consumer protections and long-term network quality.

Committee members and witnesses disagreed about the causes of delay. Republicans pointed to BEED’s implementation rules and urged quick statutory fixes so that "shovels into the ground" could follow. Grant Spellmeyer, president and CEO of ACA Connects, told the panel providers “are ready to finish the job” but urged Congress to direct NTIA to “strip costly and extraneous requirements.” Tom Donovan of the Competitive Carriers Association and Greg Hale of LTC Connect described how regulatory layering, permitting backlogs, and workforce constraints raise project costs and slow deployment.

Democratic members and Morris pushed back against rollback proposals. Morris said NTIA followed the statute in developing the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and warned that asking states to restart technical work would waste time and money: “If we do not restart these programs very soon, we risk throwing away years of careful planning and bipartisan effort in the states.” She repeatedly cautioned that removing affordability and “future-proof” standards would risk building networks that do not meet long-term needs.

Several witnesses quantified the problem. Spellmeyer and other industry witnesses cited estimates that added BEED compliance layers could raise deployment costs substantially (ACA Connects referenced member reports of cumulative cost increases as high as roughly 60 percent in some settings). Greg Hale and others said the Broadband Data Act and FCC maps were a necessary precursor but that mapping and state planning have taken time.

What the committee did: The hearing served as oversight and a forum for competing proposals. Republicans said they will press legislation to remove certain BEED requirements and to streamline permitting; Democrats warned such changes risked weakening affordability and technical standards. No formal votes or final actions occurred at the hearing.

Ending note: Witnesses and members urged prompt action but diverged sharply on whether the fix should be faster administrative waivers or statutory changes. Both sides emphasized urgency: numerous states and providers say they are prepared to move, while households in unserved areas remain disconnected.