Radio app plus cspan now is available at the apple store in google play. Download it for free today or visit our cspan now your frontrow seat to washington anytime anywhere. Next, part of the incompas policy summit in washington, d. C. Focusing otelecommunicatios beginning with the conversation with fcc commissioner Geoffrey Starks on federal investment in broadband and the impact the pandemic out on need for highspeed Internet Access. [inaudible conversations] [inaudiblee conversations] good morning. Good morning. Thank you so much for attending the incompas is this on . Good morning. There we go. Thank you so much f■nor attendig the policy summit. I am anticrank it were, president of incompas and just thrilled to see so many of you in the room. Angie kronenberg. Introduce our next big fcc commissioner Geoffrey Starks. He is the biggest kansas city chie fan in the room. Oh, wait. Wait, wait, wait. I got that wrong. No, its true. I look i think maybe we should have little shouldxa the commissioner. What do you think . Dale smith this year, to get rid a couple of in Audience Data just as proud as the commission about the Kansas City Chiefs win in the super bowl. I know when you have three wins in such a short haters are going to hate, but i am not one of them, okay . Arlette, no. In all seriousness we so happy to have the commissioner back with us. Many of you know that he has been committed to bringing affordable, competitive ride band service to every american. At our policy summit last year heas very first fcc commissioner to call for congress to extend affordable f, which is absolutely critical to ensure that the program that currently is serving over 23 million low income households ta s broadband. Its scheduled to be out of funding in a very short timeframe. The sec just reld a Public Notice yesterday saying that the funding, the full frontal runup in april and will only partial le in may. I know hes going to talk more about this. Incompas supports Congress Moving forward with the bipartisan, bicameral acp extension act. We think this is so, so important. Lets give it up. [applause] i know many of you have been talking to the commissioner and his fantastic staff. Justin is here. I think there are other folks on staff about what we can do to be helpful and calling for this theres a row for each of us in this room to be playing. Incompas will be on the hill tomorrow needing many officers. Kevin was the last count i saw. If youve not signed up for lobby day, you need to sign up for lobby day and help u so imp. So, commissioner starks, you saw him hugging commission clyburn. I think theres always been this close connection because he took her seat. And many of you know that i worked forlyburn in the first part of the obama administration, so theres like a Family Connection here. And were just thrilled that you are here tohe great work that you been doing. You had a fantastic resume. We wanty knows how much youre to say thank you for that and we look forward to hearing your comments. [applause] well, thank you, angie. As we navigate the complexities of the 21st century, one thing hasemained unchanged, and that is our commitment to ensuring that every american anywhere regardless of where you live or how much you make has■n access o reliable, affordable, highspeed internet. Axis to the minute is not just. Its a fundamental issue of fairness and a necessity for participating in modern life. In many ways our Journey Towards a more connected competitive and equitable future i believe is at a tipping point. Hardfought gains are at risk of slipping backwards. I want to do in on one place asn the refunding of the Affordable Connectivity Program. Thats connect households throughout america with Free Internet access. And■m so nearly a year ago toda, also after a chiefs super bowl win, i stood on this stage and called for the first to call for a secure funding tap for acp. I believe that thin. Stronger. That now. It was clear in the ensuing months have only emphasize, that acp is a onceinalifetime catalyst to bridge the digital divide. So since i first called for refunding the acp, the growth has continued to expo. Overexploited, but just yearoveryear from last year to this year we went from 60 my household to 23 million 23 milln households. Weve overcome numerous challenges as we effaced andg ts connected, spreading the word, gaining trust, language barriers, just the enrollment execution itself. All of these we4x have put and pulled the sword out of the way. All in all we have created a program that is very effecti nationwide. But lets briefly set the stage here, go back to august of 2021. We heard even from a a number of colleagues here before, focusing on bead, congress was crafting le mind as well as working to resolve those universal challenges that an equitable broadband deployment and access meant f working together, a Bipartisan Congress adopted the Infrastructure Investment and jobs act, the iija, stepping up to the plate with a historic investment to connect all americans with highspeed broadband. The iija made two concentrate investments to ensure that no one got lefhi the first was of course the 42. 5 billion bead program to build broadband to unserved and then underserved locations. And the second was the 14. 2 gram to provide that 30 subsidy per month against the price of broadband subscriptions, f communities of course, and a onetime discount against the price of the broadband device. So congress wisely, wisely realize that there are two challenges here when it comes to closing the digital divide, and that they are, in fact, interrelated. First, we must build broadband to reach the doorstep of all americans everywhere. Harder than it sounds. Second, millions of households quite simply cannot afford rob van without assistance. And so accor office, nearly onethird of disconnected americans say cost is an obstacle thatnd in their way to subscribing to broadband. And thats where acp of course comes in, ensuring that when high quality highspeed broadband is both available and affordable, isps can Deploy Networks with less risk and more certainty that subscribe. And importantly that also means that deployment itself is less expensive, because households enrolled in acp lead to less churn for isps, the at the mythically to both the the network which facilitates more deployment. A landmark study concluded that acp w and in club with bead, reducing the subsidy necessary to support isps Network Deployment by 25 . 25 . So what that really means, really what he means is that as ntia as im sure youve heard proves■÷■m these state bead plas federal funds are going to start to flow. That means the stars are going to stretch further and be able to impactore households in bead and reach more unserved and underserved households, thanks to the existence of acp. And so know whats going to fall out of the chair when i say that due to a lack of funding, acp is in g jeopardy. In fact, with all restarted the line down processor at the sec, shutting down push those subscribing households to make hard decisions. As of february 7 weze stopim llg new enrollees and now we are in that twomonth wind down where were trying to figure out how to manage the program but managed those that■÷ are currently enrolled. Heres the hard decision that these households are going to have to make. First, potentially face internet bill for that vulnerable household, or second, disconnecting from the internet itself. We cannot let that happen. To put it plainly, acp is the most effecve program we sat in helping lowincome americans get online and stay online. In fact, its been the most Successful Program ever in the decades long bipartisan effort to solve the digital divide. Acps success, of course, lies in its universal appeal. American samoa all 50 states are enrolled. When the commission was forced to freeze enrollment, over 130 households this is freeze of numbers here, over 130 households in my in the home state of kansas, over 270,000■i nevada, 1. 1 billion and ohio, ohio, 1. 7 million in florida, 558,000 558,000 in louisiana, 552,000 in arizona, 470,000 in virginia. Thats of cours just a smattering. What is that, six states . Enrollment was growing steadily at the time week over week. Notably the program surpassed something that ive continued to foot stuck him surpassed expectations and rural enrollment. Let that be said and the winter the program was so popular. Nationwide, nearly 70 of residents surveyed by aarp said they support congress continuing to fund the program. That same study found that acp enables us personal connections online for seniors which combatr folks, and there are a lot of ways to look at the data. Let me give you a few ways that i i thought about the data. Because its clear that acp is making a real difference in communities that are historically underserved. So data shows that approximately 50 of household anticipated in acp are black and latino. When you say that again. M■ households participated in acp are black and latino. Over 329,000 tribalpcp is also y americans with over 4 million seniors, and 10 millionicans ove of 50, benefiting from the grant each month. Finally, looking at the of the families are military families. So simply put, acp is helping to meet americans in all walks of life. I seen it firsthand, the impact that acp has had on vulnerable household. As a true champion of acp, ive crisscrossed the country to help push and increase in mobile. I see so many friends in the. ■ sidebyside with in helping to get enrollments up, increasing awareness of the program. But truly have more than anything endeavored to hear directly from people, the people, on how having access to affordable, highquality broadband impacts them come impacts their lives, what the risk now of losing it would mean. And so let me share just a few of their stories with you. You dont have to take my word for it. I met jerry, a sior, living in ■c Public Housing in chicago enrolled in acp. Hes lived his whole life without ever even own computer, and tell acp helped him through the program. He got connected with Digital Literacy courses, received his first computer. And what he really did with the computer is what really matters. He took virtually those classes and took the important steps to improve his ailing healthcare with access to the internet, including reapplying for his Health Care Benefits are mine. Denise, a mother of format Young Children who could not afford to pay for Internet Service, and that was a real problem for her. Her children were attending grade school remotely, relied on Internet Access as they shifted from textbooks to online learning. And her children she told me were in risk of falling behind. Thanks to acp she got her internet for free, and i can see her face right now. She looked at me with a combination of bravery and deep frustration, and said she was truly did not know was going to happen for her, for her family if away. Tim lake was a senior in lake county, illinois. Hes 80 but was spry, active, with wearing a trench coat and was dressed impeccably. Said tha illiterate, had and never en turned on the computer it is great 80 years on this earth. When he first heard of acp, like many of you in the room who have worked with folks, getting folks involved, he true. And so we hesitated for a really long time. Thanks to acp he got Digital Literacy courses, send his first text message to us grown daughter. Welcome to the 21st century. [laughing] thought that was funny. But like many seniors, tim of course also took advantage■÷ of broadband and had a significant medical diagnosis as well. Acp has helped him with his telehealth. Last story i could go on. You know, ive met people from portland to seattle to santa fe. I know senator lujan will be here, i understand later, and if its a great pleasure of traveling out there with him to visit tribal communities, talk to them about acp. Chicago, atlanta, new jersey, all folks have their own story i quit all do in life but they all have a similar message when youre talking to these low income households. And so deborah also is in fedel h assistance. Moved away from her family and her church community. Told me that thankso acp she now find finds itself put e internet. She goes to church online, soon church, and speaks to her grandkids every week zoom church shes taking advantage as well to use mapquest. Mappedg before she decided to go outside of her house. Started knitting business online. And i was there visiting her just after valentines day. She said she has started Online Dating for seniors. I didnt ask any more questions. [laughing] but i wish her luck. But when we discussed the end of this program she well, what, going to do to keep up with what this is put in my life . And she said as well, in a try way, am i going to have to eat less food . Thats just crazy, yall. So the time is come. The time has come to act. Without additional appropriations from congress we Just Announced that april will be the last fully funded month of acp. So this means that in a few short weeks, millions of americans will no longer have access to connectivity, that they have come to rely on for their health care, for their job, for connections with her family, with their kids, education, and■o more. These are the families who know what it means to try to stretch of dollars. They really do. They are struggling to figurt alive if acp ends. And truth be told, unfortunately, i predict that in these households will be unable to stay online, will be unable to stay connected. G to survey da collected by the sec, 68 of households say that they had inconsistent or zero connectivity prior to acp. 80 of the siding affordability as the reason for the lack of same survey reported 77 of respondents say that losing to acp benefit would disrupt their service, makehe pp Internet Service completed. Another study of unconnected households found that then mean price, then the price respond to say they could they would be at most ten dollars. B hem said they couldnt paint anything. And the majority of these households are subscription vulnerable, meaning thatt very t into their monthly budgets. And so taking a step back and look at some of the macro poli i just really see acp goes away are very limited options. A few states do have affordability programs that could serve as a backstop. So then that means we are looking to what i will say generously is the charity of Internet Service providers. Isps have agreed to create lowcost plans in partnership with acp. Many of you were there when we were at the white house where they announced that over 80 off folks would now be able to Free Internet. 80 . But there is little, little Business Case i foresee for isps to keep nearly 24 million households connected for free in the absence of support. Were fu. The loss of trust is a significant factor for these former subscribers. I think that would be substantial and would be difficult to stand up acp or some iteration of it as replacing program in the future, including trying to just keep these households online at politics i think this would be a devastating, devastating loss of households connectity. And truly, to again have a Human Element of this, i think would be devastating to these eenagers living in households making less than 30,000 per your say they sometimes cannot complete their homework. Love heard about, due to the lack of reliable computer and access. The commissions of the survey again showsd students among 182, 35 are using acp to complete their schoolwork. Access to the internet also increases enrollment in earnings for low income users. That benefits us all, right . Access t t a game changer. Data showing that increases access to care, decreases cost. 72 of acp■ Broadband Service to schedule those healthcare heale appointments. And so these studies highlight that a■ t times and broadband is most needed, loss of a job, healthcare scares, these are the times that housere in need of connectivity. These are the households that otherwise are going to struggle to pay for it. And im an optimist, an optimist at heart. Ive been working hard on the hill. You all have worked hard on the hill■i i know many of you believe deeply in this program. There is good cause for hope, oy widespread adoption, calls for acp refunding have come from nearly every part of the country. Congress to fund the program as part of his budget. Recently called again for congress to extend its funding. Theres a bipartisan,fort to fue Affordable Connectivity Program extension act. I pro a that work and am working hard with our folks on the hill. Nearly 400 government leaders in industry, public have supported that effort as well. State and local levels, nearly 26 bipartisan bipartisan governors, 174 mayors have urged congress to act. I stand ready and willing to do what it does to make congress,. Im hoping i can count on you to do the same, and so let me close here. It was jus autwo weeks ago i was driving with my kids. We were driving about an hour, hour and a quarter away to go see family. And so for those of you in the room who have kids, it was a long drive but they kept asking me that question that you always hear from the backseat. Are we there yet . Yet . And so after you hear your kid, for the parents in the room, after you the same question about ten, 11, 12 times, you actually stop and think about it. You dont have that kneejerk reflex. So i started to really stop and think about it. What are the asking me . Are we there yet . It really is about a shared destination. Its about a common journey. A joint goal. What theres also that sense of urgency, right . Are we there yet . And so as think about what is our shared goal in the digital■; know for me it is that we provide every american everywhere with highquality, affordable, access to the internet. I know some of you in the room do as well. And so if we stop and ask ourselves, if i ask myselfre we there yet . On our goal, our shared goal for digital divid were still on the way is the answer that i would give. We are still on the but i believe that acp is an essential part of how we get oue connected and equitable future is fraught with challenges, bute can transform the digital landscape to empower communities and week make real progress, yall. We really have. But we cannot let it slide backwards. President biden said just a few weeks ago in north carolina, i believe with my colleague here, he said highspeed internet is not a luxury anymore. Its absolute necessity. I agree. And so im excited for the future. For all americans, that we continue to get that highspeed, affordable broadband. Pcp is essential, is essential to that goal. So lets keep on pushing, yall. Thank you for the time. Appreciate it. [applause] thank you, commissioner. We are going to things right along. Next up is joseph wender, the Capital ProjectsFund Director and u. S. Treasury department. That fun is a 10 billion program that really was intended to be the seed funding for bead. And almost all of that funding has now been allocated, right . Hes going to give us an update. May know joseph, long friend of compass, prior staffer and sen issues nor a decade and a half or so. And we are just thrilled that he could join us. I understand hes going to take questions from the audience, too. Some could handle the mic over to somebody else who will make sure that that happens at the end of youro remarks. Thank you, joey. [applause] thanks, angie. Thanks and compass for putting really an incredible line appear. And its really an honor to follow commissioner starks who just spoke to a second ago. I do want to start by acknowledging that this is animn in the United States and we are in d. C. And politicians always like to talk aboutnd this is hic times. Its an historic moment but it really is. It really is. Never before, and the pretty sure neverl government spend tef billions of dollars in a court needed effort over such a short period of time to bring affordable, reliable highspeed internet to all americans. And i think itsething that i kp in mind at all times. Its important for everyone to keep in mind as we are embarking on this journey together. Now, the question people often ask me is how in the world did widest treasurytreasury have 10 billion dollars to promote Broadband Connectivity . The reason why, the origin story behind the Capital Projects fund,adly the pandemic. Right . Everybody in this room new bat broadband, highspeed Internet Access■ is essential for everydy life, for work, for education, for health care for communicating with friends and family. But its the pandemic that, sadly, put that into such sharp focus. And so in . 2escue plan which was one of the covert release builds, congress made a down payment on bringing connectivity to all. Exactly what angie was just describing a minute ago. We are the seed money, the precursor to the larger show which is admittedly bead which is a money that will come after us. And im excited and proud to report that of our 10 b we havd plans in all 50 states to the tune of 9. 5 billion. Now what does that mean . That means we have greenlighted states to proceed, to put out these projects for bed, i will t to intersect. I am at incompas we have to talk about competition. To make these awards andor construction to start. And im happy to say that work is underway already in about half of thetate of states homes are already connected, projects have been completed. And what are they being mpleted with . 100 symmetrical speeds. 100 symmetrical. We are the only Program Requires that speed threshold. And the reason why, because we want to make investments that dont just last four years. We want toent that last for decades to come. And when all is said and done, we will have connected over 2 million our dollars on the capitol projects fund. I think thats going to be an incredible record, and an incredible legacy for the work that is being done as part of the American Rescue plan. Now i want to come back to competition. I think its important to we hee in the first place. Why is her digital divide, or white is a tens of millions of households that dont hernet . The simplest answer is its a market failure, right . The market did not incentivize providers to go to serve these homes. Thats where we come in, right . We are paying for the cat ask for a piece to and a states to run competitive processes. Right . Put them out to bid. And not just a process but to have an all of the above approach when it comes to providers. It shouldnt just be incumbents it should be incumbents, competitors, telecom, cable compass, electric coops, muniz. We nd Creative Solutions to do this buildout. Thats why that is one of our irsuch is not competitively bidding. To the making sure the whole suite of providers is stable and has an opportunity to bid that d to better outcomes, lower costs, Better Service and more locations served. In something that commissioner starks talked about a few minutes ago, and hes exactly right. The conveatiout access. About adoption. There are multiple barriers to adoption, . U and we at the capitl projects fund are giving flexibility to states to address those adoption issues as well. We are allowing states to use our money for digital equity, and so i had the pleasure of being in philadelphiaker of philadelphiao announce a 20 million grant to pennsylvania and philadelphia, which will allow,yver 12,000 individuals to have a computer, to have a tablet, right . Is not just to bring access to somebodys home. If you donav h a device, you cant access the internet. The other piece of this is, if you cant afford service, you are not adopting it and youre not going to be connected. And thats why from day one we have been proud single providers a dollar of her money to participate in the acp. Of been said about the acp. I want to emphasize two points. The first is, i sat on this a cascading effect if the acp ran out of money. Both for the tanzanians of household that every month, butn providers that need a Sustainable Business model as they are deploying these dollars. I want to reiterate what i said last year, is that from our perspective at treasury we are 0 e of additional funding for the acp. We cannot allow the program to go away. So what am i focused on now, now that we have awarded most of the money . I dont just sit aroun a day with my feet up. It is we are very much in the complaint in implementation phase. Because theres a key deadline that is driving tthat is that as to be spent by the end of 2026. Meaning eve be done. Every project has got to be done. And i having such a rigorous or such an ambitious deadline, i know we are pushing states to act as fast as possible. Sose before an open up to questions and also acknowledging that im the only thing sitting between all of you and lunch, and im fully aware of that. Theres two key lessons i want to share with you. The first is i understand that in order to do this deployment, right, to bring broadband to all americans, it takes, really takes a village. I like to think of it youve got the federal dollars that coming from us. Youve got the state implementation. Re driving where this money is going, how these programs are structured, and they are running the proce. You need providers ad everyone else along the supply chain to actually do the work to supply the fiber and supply the widgets and technology needed to build out these networks. It takes all three without, if you take when one of the legs, thats another reason what im just so excited to be with such a Diverse Group of stakeholders because everybody is part of his larger goal. Everybody hasu6c■m a making sure that this is a success. The final thing i want to admit, and this is hard at some of the work on capitol hill for 13 years, is that what ivek this program for over two years is d. C. Does not know best. Right . The the congressional intent behind the program is to empower states to develop programs that address the critical need that exist in their states, right . We are not mandated exactly how this is supposed ton. Its states doing it. Some people say isnt it cool that you are a 10 billion program . I correct them and i say, i oversee 50. Its really 50 different programs. And i could say confidently that the net result of having 50 programs is going to be by far better than running a singular program from d. C. So i■l am just so excited to see so many states getting to work, so many awards being made, so many shovels enteringand seeingp across the country. And so i will end here and im happy to take whatever questions have. Two questions between me and turkey sandwiches, so two ques■. S. Ill talk about anything, including acp if you want. J [inaudible] you were the first to move of all federal agencies on adopting symmetrical speeds. Why did you do that . And then who followed you behit . Thanks for the question. People talk about future perfect, right . People make investments that last a very long time. And we did, in fact, want to put fiber. Now the acknowledged that fiber doesnt make sense for every location in the united stas. Itt locations in the United States. And if you make this investment now, its going to last for so much as i said at the beginning, theres not more money. This is it. So we want to be able to look back in years and inaid we did d the goal, and its still working. Hey, joey. Thank you so much for the remarks. Lets the acp does run out the funding. Youve already committed funds. States as you mentioned earlier have shovels ready in the graphic networks are batting are also required to pursue spain in acp. So any guidance to states yet and their provider partner . Our guida everyone is fight to ensure theres more money for acp. The right . Its not over yet. The fight is not over. That, well first of all i worked on hill long enough to say with total authority that you cannot prect right . No idea. So thats why the most important thing in our message to states andets fight for this money. The hardest part about acp is not convincing i think the hill that i is important or showing them that their constituents are enjoying the program. And so it was hardest part about funding for acp, its just a big number and are not competing, youre competing against other things that are not even telecom, right . I mean you massive budget of these massive appropriation bills, and everybody wants some piece of it. So you just want to make sure and we want to make sure that we congress responds, right, responds to their constituents,x that congress is prioritizing this something to ensure that it continues. I will take stacey as the last one. Thank. Joey, going to help you with your remarks for the next time you give them. Great. I think there are four players come and you didnt mention the cities and the need for the in place to grant permits and everything that they do. I know that wasntart of your program, and is not part of the bead program either. Alex spoke or not just permitten federal lands but permitting by cities. City cant grant the permits fast enough in order to meet your deadline . First of all, stacey, youe absolutely right, they are the fourth in all of this. I know that. We hear that from states all the time. I dont work at the fcc. Body, but i can tell you that we are constantly working and work shoppingh state right . Pole attachments, permitting, its very real and i agree its not just a federal lands issue wild west. And its something as well but theres a lot of coordination and discussions with the fcc, with ntia. We know its a problem. Everybody does our funding deadline and i appreciate you raising it here. I you all. [applause] [i■1udle conversations] [inaudible conversations] cspan, sure unfiltered view of government. For 45 years and counting. Just two weeks ago in the midst of a terrible tragedy on the potomac we saw again the spirit of american heroism at its finest. The hair was a dedicated rescue workers saving crash victim from icy waters and we saw the heroism of one of our young government lenny, who when he saw a woman looser grip on the helicopter line, dived into the water and dragged her to safety. [applause] cspan, powered by cable. Cspan chaptered or a cspans online store. Browse toughur apparel, books, home decor and accessories. Theres something for every cspan fan, and every purchase helps support our nonprofit operations. Shop now or anytime at cspanshop. Org. We take you live now to use senate for more work on president bidens nominee the Fourth Circuit which hears federal appeals of maryland, north carolina, south carolina, virginia and west virginia. Confirmation vote is set for 5 30 p. M. Eastern today. Live coverage on cspan2. The presiding officer the senate will come to order. The chaplain will lead the senate in prayer