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NATE’s Washam Responds to Passage of Senate Infrastructure Legislation

August 16, 2021

On Aug. 10, the day the U.S. Senate passed the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Todd Washam, NATE director of government relations and Wireless Industry Network, responded with the following statement:

Todd Washam, NATE director of government relations and Wireless Industry Network.

NATE welcomes passage of the Senate infrastructure legislation, which includes historic levels of funding for broadband infrastructure and deployment. For nearly 25 years, NATE has advocated that communications infrastructure projects that allow for the rapid flow of information and data are just as important as infrastructure projects providing for the flow of travel and goods.

NATE commends President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators for their leadership and commitment to securing passage of legislation that includes $65 billion in funding for communications infrastructure projects, which will go a long way toward providing high-speed internet and communications services to rural, unserved, and underserved communities.

NATE is also pleased that several of NATE’s legislative priorities were included as amendments in this legislation. These initiatives will help provide for a skilled communications workforce and ensure transparency and accountability of federally funded broadband projects. Sen. John Thune’s (R-S.D.) Telecommunications Skilled Workforce provision will help our industry meet the enormous demands for broadband and closing the digital divide resulting from this important legislation. And Sen. Deb Fischer’s (R-Neb.) amendment, which would require the FCC to provide maps of federally funded broadband projects, would ensure there is transparency and accountability as Congress appropriates billions in funding for broadband infrastructure.

In addition to the funding provided in the Senate infrastructure package, there are multiple agencies working on broadband infrastructure, and mapping tools will help ensure that inter-agency issues do not get in the way of deploying broadband projects to rural, unserved, and underserved communities.

NATE congratulates Biden and Sens. Sinema (D-Ariz.), Portman (R-Ohio), Romney (R-Utah) and Manchin (D-W.Va.) and the other bipartisan negotiators who fought for these important policies and worked to ensure that broadband funding was prioritized in this legislation. NATE urges the House of Representatives to consider this critical legislation without delay and send the package to Biden for his signature.

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