Carr Sees Growing Shutdown Impact on FCC Operations; Fischer Raises BEAD Concerns

The government shutdown appeared set to continue until at least Monday, with the Senate gaveling out for the weekend Thursday after once again failing to reach the 60-vote cloture threshold on advancing a continuing resolution to temporarily end the appropriations lapse, which began Oct. 1. The chamber voted 54-46 Wednesday night on a motion to proceed to the Republicans’ House-passed CR (HR-5371) to reopen federal agencies through Nov. 21. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., sought a motion to reconsider the measure, setting up a likely revote as soon as Monday night. With a vote of 54-45, the chamber also failed Thursday to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed on the Shutdown Fairness Act (S-3012), which would have allowed “essential” government workers to receive pay during the shutdown.

The FCC has “slowed down a little bit” because of the shutdown, which led the commission to furlough 81% of its staff as of Oct. 1 (see 2510010065), Carr said Thursday. “Exempted officials who are working on critical national security matters” remain at the agency “but without pay. That’s really not a good thing.” The FCC has “some carryover funds that we've been able to use to keep going on a couple of core projects,” he said. “But of course, there's only so long that you can do that.”

In addition, the FCC is “seeing some negative consequences flowing” from its consumer complaint system remaining down, and licensing applications “are simply not getting processed” for the duration of the shutdown, Carr said. There are “potentially thousands of applications for device certifications that are sitting” unprocessed, meaning “any device [that has] electronics in it” that can’t come into the U.S. “without an FCC authorization [is] on hold as well.”

He noted that the FCC is “looking again” at how to reduce barriers to broadband permitting reviews in a nod to similar actions during the first Trump administration under then-Chairman Ajit Pai. “We've started proceedings looking at” Communications Act Sections 253 and 332 for “ways that we can preempt state and local laws that make it too costly and too difficult to build,” Carr said. He wants to institute a “reasonable guardrail on permitting fees, so that they're effectively cost-based” and explore how to improve commission review “shot clocks [so stakeholders] get an up or down decision [on buildouts] within a reasonable period of time. I think that can go a long way to addressing some of the problems that we continue to see with permitting.”

Fischer emphasized that she's “happy” that NTIA's revised BEAD rules “cut away the Biden administration's red tape,” as the agency during that era “did everything they could to twist congressional intent, which severely stalled progress” on disbursing funding. But “the recent program changes have also minimized Nebraska's ability to stick to its original state buildout plan,” she said. That proposal “would have maximized service” to unserved and underserved locations and “was well within the budget allocated by Congress.”

Rosen also briefly noted ongoing concerns about NTIA’s new BEAD approach. “We need” the money to go to states sooner, she said.

“Regardless of who is in the White House, states have always been able to exercise discretion when it comes to those BEAD allocations, just so long as it applies to the law,” Fischer said. “That is what Congress intended. No state should have to rely on one type of network technology that does not suit a program meant to build future-ready communications infrastructure.” Fiber-based “broadband deployment remains absolutely critical to our rural development,” she added. She wants “a more balanced awards [approach among] fiber, fixed wireless and also satellite BEAD awards, [along with more] shovels in the ground as soon as possible. I'm going to press for this approach to close the digital divide and to keep it closed.”