Transcripts For CSPAN3 Hearing On Strengthening Communication Networks 20240707

all documents will be entered into the record at the conclusion of the hearing. the chair now recognizes herself for five minutes for an opening statement. back in march, this community met to close one of the important functions, hosting the oversight hearing. one thing was abundantly clear, bipartisan agreement we cannot with the fcc -- last under any circumstances. congress has extended the fcc's option ability on a bipartisan basis over the last three decades. i'm committed to keeping it connected intact. the fcc truly sets the benchmark for spectrum options. today, the commission has held 98 auctions, holding 94,000 licenses and permits. more than $230 billion in revenues, and provided more than $1 trillion for the american people. but the stakes are even higher right now. in july, the fcc will be kicking off a five gigahertz option, spectrum can market. fcc auction authority can jeopardize licenses from being overwritten and supercharging the networks with the 5g ready spectrum. that cannot happen. the inclusion of congresswoman david expanding the spectrum option leadership act can prevent that. it will expand the fcc's general auction going for an additional 18 months to march 31, 2024, providing the need of time to complete the 2.5 gigahertz option. working in a bipartisan way to get the sec the authority and need to maintain -- i'm also -- on agenda today. as fellow co-chair of the congressional caucus, we worked on more legislation than i can count. the smart act is no different. it will improve spectrum management in the u.s. by establishing a standardized framework for sharing between federal and nonfederal users. while i'm interested in pursuing some clarifying -- with congressman guthrie, i'm confident it can be done on a bipartisan basis and set the path for smooth markets and consideration on the floor. this bill is smart public policy and tackles an emerging but crucial issue in american spectrum leadership. the aps codification act -- ips codification act would provide statutory authority for -- communication sciences. it advances innovation and communication technology to cutting-edge research. the act also established -- to develop emergency communication technology for use in individuals trapped in areas where mobile connectivity may not be available. we also have three bills on the agenda that would increase broadband access and provide new protection for violence, domestic violence, and increased sex trafficking. -- and internet access. establishing new reporting requirements to track and improve lifeline enrollment among staff participants. ensuring critical assistance programs are working together to help deliver better services for those who need it most. especially as we continue to recover from the pandemic. i believe the bill would help provide information to approve the lifeline program. additionally, it establishes protection of domestic violence and human trafficking game. crimes like domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and human trafficking remain stuck on a family or shared it -- ssent safety networks, employers, and report services. it empowers survivors by allowing them to have mobile phone lines and shared plan involving an abuser without penalty, including the lines of any dependents. and it requires the fcc to initiate -- to connect survivors to a lifeline program and hotlines. it is smart policy, and a focused -- i hope this committee will consider it as soon as possible. i want to thank the authors of the bill and the witnesses today. i want to recognize my friend for his opening statement. >> thank you very much. thank you for calling for today's hearing. thank you to our witnesses appearing before us. really appreciate it. as our nation's spectrum resources become more scarce, there is an important role in ensuring efficient use. i'm encouraged the subcommittee is encouraging legislation to allow the u.s. to better utilize these valuable airways for economic growth and innovation. recently, sherman doyle and i introduced the spectrum innovation act to support the commercial access of the three gigahertz band. access to this spectrum is needed to bring 5g to thousands of households across rural america. i'm proud to have worked to come to an agreement on this legislation, which should be sent to the president's desk. we are considering the extending america spectrum option leadership act of 2022. it extends the fcc's authority to conduct spectrum options issue licenses for 18 months, allowing the fcc to continue its ongoing work to make more spectrum available for commercial use. without congressional action, the fcc's authority will expire on september 30 of this year. i urge with passage of the bipartisan legislation, avoid disruption to the fcc's planned option activities, like auctioning the 2.5 gigahertz band. a great step forward, but our work is far from over. the fcc, ntia continue identifying opportunities to use spectrum more efficiently. especially as demand for wireless technology grows and spectrum resources become more congested. we have engineers at the institute for telecommunication scientists that is critical in advancing technologies to help at her manage federal spectrum resources. ips played a key role in the solution to spectrum sharing between federal and commercial users. in the citizens broadband radio service band. spectrum has been previously underutilized by the federal government, now able to be used commercially to promote 5g while protecting federal incumbents. their role will only continue to grow as spectrum or purchasing decisions become more difficult, which is why the legislation, the its codification act, is so important. this legislation takes an important foot forward by strengthening the authority and recognizing contributions the lab makes to the economy. in order to identify areas where spectrum use can be more efficient, congress must provide the missionary -- necessary tools. mr. guthrie's smart act requires nti a to establish an incumbent, informing capability to take a holistic view on how federal users are using the spectrum resources across the government to identify opportunities for new commercial uses while preserving federal missions to keep our country safe. spectrum management decisions become more difficult, we must utilize every tool in the toolbox we efficiently used to provide certainty for commercial investment in wireless development. i'm pleased to see legislation on today's hearing and look forward to discussing these important topics. thank you madam chair, i yield back the balance of my time. >> the chairman yields back. the chair recognizes the chairman of the committee for five minutes for his opening statement. >> thank you, chairwoman. it is good to see you. let me point out, there are members, this is what we call a virtual committee make -- committee week. three committee days today, tomorrow, thursday. having a subcommittee and each of those days, 2 of which are legislative hearings. we are always busy, even when we are virtual. we are continuing the longtime work in this subcommittee ensuring our nation's communication networks are stable, secure, ensuring infrastructure to connect friends and families, delay emergency communications for the public. allow business operations to run more efficiently. and deliver education to health services. the legislative hearing will discuss five bills, most of which are bipartisan on a broad range of proposals aimed at entering these valuable networks continue delivering these critical services to consumers. i would like to give my own view on these bills. i'm pleased we are considering hr 7783, the extending american spectrum auction leadership act. this committee has a long tradition of working together and delay the groundwork for innovation in this country. this legislation is no exception. it will extend spectrum auction authority for the fcc for 18 months. as a result, the fcc will be able to hold its planned auction of the 2.5 gigahertz band without disruption and fully close out auctions that have occurred. congress has never led the fcc spectrum authority lapse since authorizing it in the early 1990's. i'm pleased taking this step today. i want to thank the fcc chairwoman for her leadership on this issue and emphasizing the importance of it. i'm hopeful congress can come together to use the funding to important priorities and a replacement of suspect communications among other good ideas. we are considering hr 713 two, introduced by representative custer -- and, wireless home service can be an important live . human trafficking and other related crimes. shared mobile service plans can subject individuals to hit and miss, such as digital abuse. abuse requiring mobile service providers to separate the survivors phone line from an account abuser for financial penalties and other challenges after they receive a request survivor. also required to establish emergency communication support, lifesaving legislation, and i welcome the opportunity to discuss it today. we are also considering hr 4275, ensuring phone and internet access for snap recipients act. since 1985, the lifeline program has provided a discount on phone service to qualifying americans. the data demonstrates only a fraction of lifeline eligible individuals enrolled in the program. it would require the fcc to annually submit a report to congress on the lifeline program in moments of individual participating in snap. it would require the fcc to report to congress on the enrollment of new broadband consumers in the lifeline program and effectiveness of advertising on these numbers. we will consider two bills directed at the work of the national telecommunications and information administration, specifically hr 4990, introduced by representatives carter and cosponsored by representative o'halleran. and hr 5486 introduced by representative guthrie. these bills provide the access to innovative spectrum management solutions, led in part by the institute for telecommunications scientists. as the engineering laboratory for ntia, its drives innovation and enables us to learn about and protect an open global internet. i wanted to also recognize the parting member of the energy and commerce committee team. a native new jerseian who has done terrific work over the past five years. she joined us as a detail. she is now headed to a new role at the ntia. we know the incredible amount of work the agency has before it, and i wish her nothing but the best in her future. thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. >> the chair recognizes ms. rogers, ranking member of the full committee, for five minutes for her opening statement. >> thank you, madam chair. the success of our nation's wireless future depends on smart management of our spectrum resources. earlier this year, we had a hearing on spectrum issues where we heard overwhelming support to extend the federal communications commission's spectrum auction authority to ensure the successful competition of the fcc." s upcoming spectrum auction of the 2.5 gigahertz ba nd. it will allow carriers to expand 5g across the u.s. i'm pleased to announce this committee responded. we are considering bipartisan legislation to extend the fcc auction authority for 18 months through march 2020 four. this bill will ensure the agency completes the ongoing spectrum activity and provides certainty to bidders in the upcoming auction that the fcc will be able to use their licenses if they bid. i want to thank chairman pallone and chairman doyle to reach this bipartisan agreement. i look forward to advancing this legislation. the demand for wireless technology grows, and we need to adapt to make sure spectrum resources are used efficiently. while it is critical to repurpose spectrum from federal to commercial use, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find prime spectrum bands that are unencumbered. i'm pleased we are considering that our colleagues act, a reestablishingn incumbent informing capability. it will allow ntia to cease usage across the federal government and help improve spectrum used efficiently while also protecting national security. representative cartersville, the i tf codification act will codify the important duties of ntia's institute for telecommunications sciences. the government's premier radiofrequency laboratory. clarifying the responsibilities of the agency and directing them to advance spectrum repurpose and opportunities and certify new technology as we continue advancing american wireless leadership. leadership and next-generation technology depend on our ability to develop innovative solutions to repurpose spectrum for commercial use. this will ensure spectrum resources are available for future use is not yet known, and maintain the u.s. reputation as the number one place for businesses to invest in innovation and grow the economy. this committee is leading on solutions to make spectrum resources available. but to unleash the full potential of today's spectrum legislation, we also need to address barriers to deploying wireless infrastructure. energy and commerce republicans are leading on a package to boost broadband conductivity agenda, which rolled back duplicative, burdened regulations, and permitting requirements to speed up the appointment of broadband infrastructure without permitting the form, it would be difficult for the u.s. to compete and beat china. if we fail to address these reforms, the committee will miss an opportunity to strengthen american leadership in gender communication technology. we are also considering legislation that would allow survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking to separate from any shared mobile contract with their abuser. republicans have several changes we would like to see made to the bill, but we stand ready to work with our colleagues to find a solution. survivors of domestic violence must have the freedom to have a new start, to be safe and secure, and able to separate from their abuser quickly. this hearing is a great first step to discussing this bills. you can hear from witnesses about how they will impact the marketplace. i look forward to hearing from all of you and i yield back the remainder of my time. >> the gentlelady yields back. the chair would like to remind members pursuant the committee rules, all members with an opening statement shall be made part of the record. i now would like to introduce our witnesses for today's hearing. ms. anna and gomez, dr. thomas e condrey, assistant professor, university of georgia school of law. mr. mark gibson, director business development and spectrum policy, regulatory officer of the on go alliance. and dr. alisa valentin. senior director of technology and telecommunications policy national urban league. at this time, the chair would recognize each witness for five minutes to provide an opening statement. ms. gomez, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. chairwoman, ranking members, and distinguished members of the subcommittee. for the opportunity to beer -- to appear for you today. lie back on working for the fcc and my experience in the private sector, renewed spectrum challenges. but my testimony reflect my own views, and are not necessarily those of my clients. the path that we share in managing our nations airways can be daunting. given the stakeholders had interests as there are continuing needs like additional spectrum for new and innovative uses. it is important -- responsibilities. i therefore want to thank the committee for its bipartisan attention and commitment to spectrum management. this is management reallocation -- but the proposed incumbent capability to provide a common platform for sharing. i want to thank congressman guthrie for introducing this legislation. congress tools that they apply can -- to ensure continual leadership while updating the development and deployment of new innovative services with investment in job creations while making sure the federal agency has the spectrum and needs to meet their mission. tele commission -- telecommunications sciences codification act is another important step showing it is necessary to effectively manage spectrum. ips is integral on the spectrum management effort by providing research, testing, and analysis. like -- providers and other government agencies. providing this, support spectrum management initiative. i want to thank congressman carter for this legislation. and recently, the process has been increasingly challenging. however, the agencies announce a new joint spectrum coordination initiative. the strategy is particularly essential, and any strategy should include identifying additional spectrum for new uses well ensuring federal agencies can meet their mission. of course, identifying additional spectrum -- if there is not the authority. in addition to the best piece of spectrum, over $2 billion in federal revenue. that revenue -- and pay -- [indiscernible] also helps facilitate their repurpose in seeing in the spectrum relocation fund. for the expansion of the spectrum authority, the leadership compromising -- [indiscernible] [indiscernible] this subcommittee has an important role to play in overseeing the national strategy identifying additional spectrum bands for repurpose thing. we urge the committee to continue with the existing spectrum management framework. the letter to the house and senate commerce committee leaders. it includes recommendations for updating the commercial spectrum enhancement act for more spectrum. it is an effective tool, but there is room for improvement. further by removing the capability which then would allow users to modernize their allocated equipment as part of a special reallocation process to relinquish the spectrum band. in addition, the cost for the impacts for strong -- [indiscernible] issues affecting commercial providers. thank you for allowing me to share my perspective on pending legislation to improve our spectrum management activities. i look forward to answering any questions you may have. >> thank you. dr. condrey, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. ranking member, distinguished member of the subcommittee. i greatly appreciate the opportunity to testify before you today. i'm a law professor at the university of georgia. the institute for women's studies and the institute for cybersecurity and privacy. i obtained my phd from the local and research focuses on technological regulation of privacy, speech, and abuse. as an affiliated researcher, i work directly with digital abuse and advise lawmakers on how to address it. i use digital abuse to refer broadly to help people exploit technology to harm others. why specifically, digital abuse involves using technology to control, harass, survey of, or threaten someone in a way that invades that privacy or harms them physically, emotionally,. physical abuse is on the rise. the mystic violence charity refuge estimates 95% of its cases involve technology. or the national domestic violence hotline has seen a 155% increase of abuse between 2015 and 2018. those numbers have grown through the pandemic. they might seem shocking, but one in three women and one in six men have experienced abusive relationships. given how central -- essential digital technology has become in our lives, their role in potential abuse is. it is a complex question, but one common theme is it abuses new technology to become ever present in a victim's life. or at least to create that impression. it might be tempting to focus on more sensational topics likestalkerware apps, but digital abuse is shown to be often mundane and requires little to no sophistication and relies on everyday devices and services. a classic example is family phone plans. information that an abuser can gather from these plans might exasperate and thwart attempts to escape. the serious yet underappreciated risk makes phone plans the snake in the grass of domestic violence. these plans let an abuser monitor the victims calls, text, and precise location of their device. an abuser may find where a victim is currently hiding or planning to go. as well as any contact with family matters, domestic violence hotlines, or crisis response centers. as danny freed -- diana friede, people were coming to our clinic and report the abuser knows where they are, they left and moved onto to a new relationship, and suddenly all of their contacts have been contacted by the abuser and they have no idea how this person got the numbers. the victim can always abandon the device entirely, it may work for matters if the phone and his numbers connect them to friends, family, work, and crucial services keeping them safe. if the victim tries to leave the family plan, some companies charge high fees of up to $350 per line, in addition to upfront payment for any devices being financed in installments. the many victims paying these sums all at once will exceed financial means. especially when the abuser controls economic resources, as is common with domestic violence. no federal law currently allows victims to leave family plans. existing state laws provide inadequate protection. and people in states without any legal rights to get out of a family plan, especially with low incomes, can be trapped in a contract allowing the abuser to control them. a strong federal law empowering victims to leave family plans would help vulnerable people in all states to cut the dangerous tie with their abusers. the legislation represents significant progress by making it easier to -- leave family plans quickly. victims rely on phones as a lifeline. but the same technology can simultaneously expose them to abuse. it is an effort to respond to how phones play essential but complicated roles in victims lives. it is encouraging to see the bipartisan consensus that has emerged as it has progressed through congress. even the telecommunications industry has signaled its support. federal law should allow them to make a clean break for abusers with minimal barriers and risks. and the save connections act would be a step in the right direction. thank you. i look forward to your questions. >> thank you. mr. gibson, you are recognized for five minutes. >> chairman doyle, ranking member, members of the subcommittee. anchor for the opportunity to testify. it is an honor and pleasure to be here today, if only virtually. i'm here is my capacity of regulatory officer. the mission is to support the common entrance to operators and development of adoption and lte solutions of the 3.5 gigahertz citizens broadband radio service. it is a very important band for 5g deployment in our country. i would like to discuss the legislation and focus on today's hearing to enhance the importance of the band and allow greater deployment of broadband. utilities in the broadband radio service launched in 2020. since it launched, there have been well over 200,000 base stations across the country deployed. they support all reaches of telecommunications, even support for distance learning during covid, covid trier centers, utilizing poorly connected 5g farmers achieve connectivity. critical manufacturing automation, and connecting disparate corners of our supply chain. it literally saves lives. it is shared with several types of incumbent operations, including fixed satellite service, legacy broadband, and the dod. sharing happens through a system. the role is to tell base stations what frequency they can operate on at their locations without causing interference to incoming operations. fixed satellite and broadband incumbents, where the operations are, of aiken have frequency availability analysis. for the dod operations, generally a type of naval radar on board of aircraft carriers, it is not possible to know exactly where they are located for natural -- national security resources. -- networks called environmental sensing capability. each of those networks is comprised of scores of defenses that sense radar operation and alerts, which tells base stations to avoid the radar frequency in use. sensors must quickly sense radar operations that occur over 150 miles off of the coast, meaning the sensors are extremely sensitive to very weak signals, and they can be susceptible to interference from base stations. to avoid interfering with our sensors, cbs devices 25 to 50 miles from a sensor must operate at reduced power or avoid operating altogether. this creates a defective protection area around each sensor when device operation is either curtailed or extremely limited. operators have tried to minimize these protections through design and the patients by placing sensors as close to the coast as possible. sometimes, avoiding populated areas is inescapable. because of the reduced availability of cbrs, it -- millions in coastal regions, as well as licensees who paid over $4.5 billion in an auction. there is a remedy to this problem in an incumbent and informant capability. the ntia has proposed a portal. it would allow any user to notify of operations with notice. federal spectrum users can specify a time, duration, location, and operating frequencies. the information be provided to protect the areas as if a sensor has sensed the radar. the only drawback is authorization and funding. there's currently no timeline for the construction and no authorization of a specified son -- funding source. it would greatly enhance 5g operations. including allowing operators to increase power levels and fully realize the value of the band, allowing millions of americans to benefit. this is why the alliance it supports hr 5480 six, simplifying management reallocation and transfer spectrum act, and we honor congressman guthrie's work on this. the smart act will provide a timeline and funding authorization to dedicate the ability and sharing other bands. thank you and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you. dr. valentin, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you so much. ranking member, distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to a beer before you today. i am the senior director of technology and communications policy at the national urban league read greetings on behalf of the president and ceo. in my prior role, i was a special advisor to the fcc commissioner jeffrey star, advising broadband policies impacting communities of color and low income communities. in this capacity, i made policy recommendations regarding the -- i was also the first person watching the livestream, sitting behind my former boss as he answered from the committee, but my seating arrangement has changed. the national urban league have long recognized access to high-speed internet is a civil right. the covid-19 pandemic demonstrated everyone needs broadband to learn, work, receive health care, and access critical services, no matter their income, race, and geographic location. last year, the national urban league published a plan for digital equity and inclusion, but we presented four goals, deploying that work everywhere, getting everyone connected, creating new economic opportunities to participate in the growth of the digital economy, and using that work to improve how we deliver services. we recognize in order to achieve these goals, we must erase these pertinent conductivity gaps, including availability, adoption, and affordability. i will focus on affordability. nearly 47 million people in the u.s. are left off-line because they are unable to afford broadband. it disproportionally in plaques black -- impacts black and latin households. -- do not have a home broadband collection. low income families were dependent on the fcc lifeline program, the only federal program focus on providing affordable communication services to low income households. this program must be modernized to reach households who need it more, because it is very underutilized with a participant -- participation rate under 90%. need a whole of government approach to get households enrolled in what is already a lifeline for millions of families. that is why the national urban league supports the goal of ensuring internet access for staff recipients act of 2021. it requires the fcc to submit an annual form to congress on enrollment lifeline by staffers. it requires a commission to report on projected lifeline consumers through federal business programs and efficacy of various efforts to advertise the program. the requirements of the deal should be extended beyond lifeline to include the affordable conductivity program, established with the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law. although 12 million households have been enrolled, and estimates show approximately 48 million households are eligible, congress, the fcc and ntia recognized outreach efforts must include finding of trusted organizations working on the ground. the national urban league could not agree more. we believe the burden of advertising these programs should not fall solely on the shoulders of advocates seeking to serve the underserved. there needs to be more resources provided. we also think about the future, it can expand the life of the program. at the national urban league is not taking a formal position. but we do believe congress will consider a number of ways to provide urban sustainable funding, such as using proceed to respect options to fund efforts. rising income and the depend city -- dependency on the ecosystem, we must -- an economic benefit to connecting everyone to high-speed internet. including workers and small business owners. the national urban league believes spectrum auction winners should be encouraged or incentivized to higher from underrepresented communities, beyond entry-level positions, establish diversity hiring goals and go for diversity. our organization pick up efforts to increase equity in companies, because we know black and white workers deserve to experience the economic benefits of the sector. we reached a critical juncture in history. it is time to move forward creating a technology ecosystem filling the needs of communities of color and low income communities. thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony. i look forward to answering questions. >> thank you. we have completed openings. moving to member questions. each memory will have five minutes to ask questions of our witnesses. i will recognize myself for five minutes. the fcc 2023 budget estimate to congress earlier this week expressed confidence of the 2.5 gigahertz option likely before the end of the fiscal year 2022, where the auction is set to expire. certain auctions requiring fcc resources continuing into fiscal year 2023. yes or no, do you believe sending the fcc's auction authority will ensure a 2.5 gigahertz spectrum without issue? >> u.s.. >> interested in supporting ways to share underutilized sectors for commercial use. the smart act introduced will provide new resources to ntia to support the development of the new sherry system to have more federal and nonfederal coordination. why is it important to have a standardized framework for sharing spectrum across federal agencies, and could you describe the potential for the system to support commercial applications >> yes. thank you very much. an excellent question. the -- is a project the ntis conceived to help facilitate the job they already do well in the background, supporting the sharing of spectrum. but what theiic would do is allow a more robust capability by doing away with these sensing networks deployed, which sensed a federal operation in situations where there might be issues of classification. so the concept of the iic is to move the responsibility over to the ntia by allowing them to build an affordably portable, that users can put the information onto portal and it would be made available to commercial users, perfect protections for classification domains. we believe it is probably one of the best ways to effectuate commercial sharing. as the fbm loaded -- noted, -- >> over the years, freeing up spectrum for commercial use, we need to keep looking for new opportunities to replenish the spectrum pipeline to support 50 and -- broadband. what road is federal equipment play in supporting or limiting our ability to free up spectrum? >> thank you for that question. federal agencies have equipment that at times is aging. unfortunately, the fund does a submit it to do anything but replace the equipment. so let capability -- [indiscernible] to the extent the agency equipment is toward the end of its life for decades old. for many agencies, expanding assistance capability was a powerful incentive to an agency. where we didn't go to spectrum. >> the fcc's -- economic hardship, maintain broadband of all services. also in the pandemic, i wrote -- urging additional protections for lifeline subscribers as they become eligible directly or find support programs. it is important we continue to get here and expand the rest of the lifeline. do you see additional opportunities to streamline the lifeline of the enrollment process and increase coordination between the fcc and other federal agencies? >> yes, definitely. the bill before us today is about understanding where we are, where we are hoping to go. identifying any gaps that may persist on the road to get there. it will also help us understand who is eligible for the lifeline program. the folks who work for the housing security, juggling food and security. then you can have coordination. i will figure out where we need to focus our efforts to raise the like about the lifeline program and the one coming up. thank you, my time is expiring. i yield back. i recognize the subcommittee ranking member for five minutes. >> thank you very much. thanks to our witnesses for being with us. really appreciate it. i guess my question -- federal agencies to identify new and innovative tools to make more efficient use of spectrum use. incumbent informant capabilities to show great promise for advancement in ntia's ability to manage federal spectrum opportunities for commercial use. it is true we give ntia greater understanding how and when spectrum users occupying the airwaves. -- promote header interagency coordination of spectrum resources. >> excellent question. as we all know, the is the spectra manager for the federal government. in that role, you are responsible for interfacing with commercial users in that regard. the capability will allow other federal specter -- to interface with a portal that they can use -- make that information aware to commercial spectrum users. it can be used with a contact access system or otherwise. ntia constructed a broad concept for this. so the concept of the iic -- should facilitate sharing across all federal spectrum domains just by being there and allowing spectrum users to put spectrum usage capabilities or information into this that would thereby be made available to commercial users. >> hr 4275, ensuring phone and internet access would require the fcc to report on the enrollment of the wi-fi program that also participates in this program. what has benefited -- what benefit has this provided? >> i believe it will help the fcc better coordinate. it will extend to other government agencies. it is important for us to know where we are, where the gas in participation are. i think it is really important to understand what effective advertisement efforts there are out there. >> let me follow-up. having this renewed data collection? >> there is some data. i know that there is data about the databases and the folks that are directly enrolled through the state. i believe the enrollment is about 13%. there are also folks who get into the program on a multitude of databases. and i don't have clarity. i know you shouldn't ask me for clarity help. kind of like multiple programs. just kind of pinpointing that information. >> also want to know there is currently an ongoing discussion recorded by the infrastructure law in the future of the universal service -- should look like in light of all of the money appropriated. i'm not really sure right now if this legislation is necessary at this time. mr. gibson, i go back to you. the i tf codification act would provide additional tools and authority for institute of telecommunication sciences. as a significant user, which helped made available for commercial users, you have benefited them, what role did itf play in the cbrf framework, and how can expertise be utilized to address our future spectra management challenges? >> excellent question. itf started off initially by doing a series of interference measurements. fringe typing measurements, lab typing. then we put them in commercial systems. that report was huge and made available initially so that the commercial world could better understand what role the radar display in. as we move through -- they were the agency that did the tests. on behalf of the fcc, they did the testing to test us against commercial availability. as we have been working through this, i'm not sure if they have been able to do it, but propagation modeling at first to better inform those models we had been using. >> thank you very much. before i yield back, i will have to turn it over to my good friend from florida, because i'm going to ask to be at a roundtable. i appreciate today's hearing, and i thank the witnesses, and i yield back. >> thank you. the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes mr. colon, committee chairman for five minutes to ask questions. >> thank you. i'm going to try and get three questions in. i ask all of you, it will only take a minute or so. ms. gomez, talk to us about how access to spectrum enhances our mobile broadband networks and what consumers and the public world lord into auction that -- -- lured into auction, that is extended. >> -- thank you. it allows mobile networks to meet broader capacity, making up our next generation technologies. it would be bad for consumers if we lost the ability to auction the licenses, because it would be disproportionate rollout of services to consumers. >> thank you so much. i wanted to ask a little bit about survivors of domestic violence. we know domestic violence, human trafficking, and other crimes are a serious concern. studies indicate at least one in four women and one in 10 men experienced physical violence, sexual violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner. these instances use technology to bully, control, or intimidate a partner. the question is how can family mobile service plans place survivors of domestic violence and other related crimes in harm's way and we are providing survivors the ability to separate their phone service from their abuser? >> thank you. absolutely, the family plan allows abusers to monitor a victim's calls, texts, even locations. all of this information from family plans can enable further excavation by the user. and safety planning is so essential one of a them is trying to leave a relationship. that same planet can create immense danger if that person recovers -- discovers the departure. there are too many obstacles and risks involved. we give these stories all the time. i will mention one briefly. a client on a family phone plan, and abuser left the country permanently. so the client could not get released from the family phone plan, because the abuser could not be contacted. we had all sorts of other stories where people struggled to get out of these plans. those that can really change conditions by giving victims a light to leave their phone plans quickly, remotely, and free. >> thank you. lastly, i want to ask about the lifeline program. it provides eligible families with phone service so no one will be without a phone line in case of emergency or keeping in touch with friends or loved ones. it has been proven to be essential for many people. we know a fraction of the eligible population, about 19% is the normal. in your opinion, can the data in hr 4275, help raise awareness of the lifeline program when ultimately it helps those? obviously wanting more people to sign up. >> yes. you can absolutely help community organizations raise awareness about the lifeline program and figure out where we need to target our efforts. it is also about accountability relating to government agencies. helping people more work in need -- most in need. access to services such as the wife programs directly correlate to economic activity for workers and entrepreneurs. and we want to be able to close those opportunity gaps. >> thank you so much. thank you, chairwoman. >> thank you. the chair now recognizes misses rogers, full committee ranking member for five minutes to ask questions. >> thank you, madam chair. good morning again. i'm pleased we have come together with bipartisan legislation to extend the fcc's auction authority for 18 months. ms. gomez, this 18 month extension will allow the fcc to complete the auction of the 2.5 gigahertz band and a disruption to the fcc spectrum operations. some people think the fcc's authority should have been extended for a longer term. such as 10 years. what are the benefits of extending the services for 18 months? >> thank you for your question. i think it can be very beneficial. but at this point, the extension is the most practical at this point in time. also -- before december 30. we don't have any current spectrum identified, so it would be -- the extension with the authority. don't have the -- strategy, either. so to extend, but the fcc and ntia will develop their strategies. >> as the former deputy assistant deputy, you have first-hand experience about the world -- role ntia plays in spectrum management. this he to for telecommunications sciences does important work for radiofrequency, and develop technologies to improve spectrum efficiency. what role does its play in the federal government? >> a very important role in spectrum management. --ntia as it makes big decisions. with regard to spectrum use, coordinates with the fcc on pressing decisions that might affect federal agencies. conducting development, testing. also entering with other federal agencies to conduct tests for them, as well as commercial providers. there is a variety of ways that are important in the spectrum management ecosystem. and as we look to the future of wireless technologies, we know effective spectrum management is critical to our success. how can we better leverage ips to promote innovation and compete with china in deploying wireless technology? >> i'm so glad you raised this question. its is a very important component of management. largely funded through these agreements. so they were able to put it past the -- being proposed. drawing attention to the resources, and being able to bolster the its functionality all while supporting our efforts domestically and internationally. >> thank you. i appreciate that. earlier this year, the senate passed the safe connections act to ensure survivors of domestic abuse can terminate from a plan within abuser. this is a legislation to bring survivors one step closer to a more hopeful, safe, and secure future. however, it is important to get the details right in this legislation so survivors and wireless carriers have a smooth process for providing relief. which sting to the challenges survivors face trying to separate from the shared aspects, such as the shared phone contract. >> thank you, congresswoman. the obstacles vary, but i will focus on a couple because i know time is short. it can be quite difficult to detect this level of surveillance that goes on through family phone plans. sometimes the victims are frankly unaware. when they become aware, trying to protect themselves can be a real challenge. often times, phone companies won't allow for changes to the accounts unless they have the primary account holder's permission, which in many cases, is the abuser themselves. other times, considerable fees and upfront costs making this barrier to separating the line too daunting for survivors to go through. i would be happy to mention other obstacles, but those are a couple i think are a particular concern to survivors trying to protect themselves and get out of these plans. >> thank you. including a remote option for separation, do you think that might be the answer? >> absolutely. i'm pleased the act as i read it does include such a protection. particularly given the fact so many survivors may have real concerns about going into a physical store, particularly in smaller communities, where the people working may know them, they know the person is confirmed, so i think providing that remote option is crucial. >> appreciate your insight and your work. i yield back. >> thank you. the gentlelady yields back. the chair recognizes mr. mcnerney for five minutes. >> thank you for holding this hearing and i think the committee staff for bringing this together. i would greater spectrum sharing between the federal and nonfederal to these impact the current deployment of our 5g networks? >> thank you for that question. sharing is certainly a tool in the toolbox. and it becomes more and more challenging enable us to find new ways to obtain spectrum. it continues to be preferable to divide clear spectrum for options to enable infrastructure providers and manufacturers the certainty they need to make the necessary investments to establish u.s. leadership in 5g and beyond. >> do you think moving towards a more agile spectrum sharing environment will blur the lines between licensed and unlicensed spectrum? >> i don't think we have the systems in place today to get to an environment to blur the lines. but i can imagine sometime in the pretty far future where that would happen. it would require investment in technology, changes in our allocation processes, and how our regulatory agencies approach spectrum management. in the meantime, unlicensed spectrum has been hugely successful with a tremendous impact on the economy. participants must have the certainty necessary that makes them willing to invest in the option as well as investing in deploying the network. >> the spectrum sharing framework and the smart act includes a system to enable time-based spectrum sharing. what degree of -- do you see a role for artificial intelligence in machine learning in timesharing and distribution of the spectrum? >> yes. i have to say i'm not an expert in this area. i will report that the report a while ago mentioned eventually the system should lead to a quote -- a point where ai and machine learning is utilized as a method of implementing the sharing mechanism. >> thank you for that response. in your written testimony explained the concept of incumbent informing capability as a mechanism to manage interference more effectively between federal and nonfederal users specifically in the citizens band radio service. could the iic be expanded to other parts of the spectrum? >> thank you for that question and it is a very good question. it manages spectrum availability of their fire reducing the capability of occurrence. but it can be applied to other parts of spect drum. the ntia's vision is to be used across all spectrum domains where there will be commercial sharing and it can be accessible to federal sharing to the extent that is a thing. but their vision is brought and it can easily fluctuate in any spectral. >> is artificial intelligence used in that process? >> it is not but artificial intelligence, machine learning, absolutely lend themselves to spectrum management. that is my area of expertise. we have been using bits and pieces of artificial intelligence to improve the fidelity of responses, therefore mitigating interference. it is nascent but it is beginning. >> excellent. what indications would they have for unlicensed 5g and employment of broadband? >> to the extent that any sort of deployment be in shared spectrum,t -- the iic would not manage whatever spectrum is managed. it could handle licensed options unlicensed. there is a concept been called -- it is coordinating six gigahertz unlicensed microwave systems. the same thing could be applied in the seven and eight gigahertz band sharing with federal systems. it would lend itself to that. . >> my time is about expired so i am going to yield back. thank you for your responses. >> thank you. the chair now recognizes mr. guthrie for five minutes. >> thank you. you said in your opening statement we work on more spectrum bills then we can count. each time it has been a pleasure to work with you and staff. appreciate that very much. my first question today is for ms. gomez. i want to thank you for your support of my legislation. spectrum is out -- is a valuable and scarce resource and we need to do all we can do to ensure every spectrum user is as efficient as possible including the federal government. how would an incumbent informing capability tell ntia to resolve technical barriers to make it more federal spectrum available for commercial users? >> is getting harder. the iic will provide needed transparency and certainty. it will also replace some methods that are technically challenging. the capability will not allow the use of fully cleared spectrum but to the extent that the geographics have an opportunity it permits broader uses of spectrum in areas of the federal agencies may not be operating. >> thank you. i got feedback, i'm sorry. they directed you to have a standardized framework to shoe real-time uses information. as ntia seeks to identify new bands to clear for commercial use, how would this will help enhance emissions key to protecting our national defense? we all want access and better spectrum but we want to make sure our agencies can accomplish their core missions. so how does this balance that? >> we support the other agencies abilities while balancing the need to support innovations and the economy. we continue using spectrum on a fair basis. the opportunity to access more spectrum while continuing to use them. >> while the bill we are discussing is focused on sharing i want to reiterate my continued support for making additional spectrum available through options. again, can you talk about the role ntia in finding ways to incentivize more federal agencies to be efficient so we can make sport -- more spectrum available and does the strike the right balance between prioritizing options where possible and sharing where options are not feasible? >> this is something i feel passionate about. ntia's role is to work with all agencies to make sure they are making efficient use of the spectrum. but it is challenging to motivate other agencies to work on other identifying spectrum or make more efficient spectrum use if the sole purpose is to equip spectrum for other users. [indiscernible] they have provided tools in an effort to repurpose spectrum. i noted in my testimony it can provide additional incentives. in addition, it is helpful that congress or the white house includes studies or options in the legislation or an executive order for the memorandum. such actions most of the work ntia is doing and gets attention to help provide motivation. >> ok. i appreciate that. that completes the questions i have so i yield back. >> thank you. the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes mr. o'halloran for five minutes to ask questions. >> thank you for holding this meeting today. we need more hearings like this where we are working together to solve a problem, where we are more focused on finding a solution then partisan bickering. and i appreciate the bipartisan emphasis on this meeting. i want to voice my support for the safe connections act introduced by my friend. which would take necessary steps to protect victims of domestic abuse and other crimes. i thank you for your leadership on this and i am glad to see this committee consider the bill and hope to make it move through the house quickly. another bill we are considering today addresses a problem i see far too often in my district and and under resourced communities in general. congress passes legislation oftentimes aimed at helping struggling communities, working families or seniors. but the people it is supposed to help don't know the program exists or that they are eligible at all. far too often people don't know how to navigate bureaucratic systems. we should be doing everything we can to make it easier for them to get the help they need good -- they need. what does a whole of government approach look like when reaching underserved and under resourced communities? >> thank you so much for the question. i would say a whole government approach means that federal agencies across the border using their existing authorities, using their existing resources to reach underserved communities and a coordinated fashion. eligibility for programs like the affordable's activity program based on eligibility for other federal assistance programs far too often federal agencies are working independently to administer their respective assistance program. so agencies can work on creating coordinated educational materials. they can share information across agencies and work on effective outreach efforts. >> i was just out in the field yesterday in my district in three different communities. and each one of those communities brought up a lack of knowledge on what was going on with different programs within our whole of government approach. so somewhere along the line we are missing the opportunity to get the information out there. i know that my staff does a consistent job on that. but we have to find a way -- i don't care what it is at and what agency it is. we have to find a way to allow our citizens to know what is going on out there. another question, beyond this bill, are there other approaches congress should consider to ensure eligible households access programs like affordable connectivity program? certain travel programs administered by the bureau of indian affairs qualifies households for the acp. should congress consider requiring bih provide information to eligible households about the acp, or should other agencies be working together in that whole of government approach to get this information out to people? >> thank you for the question. as you know, tribal communities are disproportionately disconnected and they are dealing with both access issues as well as affordability issues. with the lifeline program as well as the acp program, that is recognized and that is why tribal communities receive those enhanced benefits. but they can also be effective if the households know these programs exist. so i think congress should definitely explore all options that encourage and incentivize federal agencies to work together and reach these households and foster collaboration between the fcc mbia can help increase enrollment and was certainly welcome legislation that supports those goals. >> thank you very much. i'm also glad to see this committee consider bills given the ntia and the fcc the necessary tools to manage spectrum. spectrum is a public resource that belongs to all of us. it is also a finite public resource. our approach to spectrum policy must reflect that reality. what actions can and should the fcc and the ntia take to ensure that spectrum bands are used as efficiently as possible? >> thank you for your question. they are constantly trying to evolve what they do. there is a high level, i would say, number one increasing transparency as much as possible. sometimes it can be difficult or sensitive systems but the more knowledge we have the more creative ways we can come up with using spectrum more efficiently. >> thank you very much. i yield. >> thank you. the gentleman yields. the chair now recognizes for five minutes. >> appreciate it very much. like many of my colleagues, i am pleased to see a bipartisan bill to extend the option for an additional 18 months. the benefits options have has a through increased revenue, technological intervention, has been immeasurable. if this legislation is not signed into law and fcc's option authority is severely restricted, what implications does that have on the international stage? and would we be allowing our international competitors like china to have a leg up on leading the future of technology? >> that is a very important point. i do think it would have a significant effect on our international standing. largely because it would put us back to the old-fashioned way of life, which is inefficient. so we would be significantly delayed vis-a-vis other countries who are actually quite advanced in providing spectrum for new and advanced services. >> thank you. next question. it has been sometime since i brought up natural disasters in this subcommittee. and with june 1 being the beginning of florida's hurricane season, the time is right to remind people of the dangers also the promise technology brings that we need to save lives. congressman carter's its clarification that includes the creation of emergency and tracking technologies initiative that would help locate trapped individuals during events when communication lines are down, hoping save lives when seconds count. again, what can callers do to continue advancing leadership in technological innovation? >> thank you for that question. they do core research for public safety to better understand the components of what medication signals need to prioritize to see through smoke and video. the necessary revolution -- resolution. so what they are doing is very important. funding the idea to conduct research is critically important for us to be prepared as a nation to meet the challenges of the changing environment and what that poses to communication systems. supporting the efforts is terrific and continuing to find ways to utilize idf and bolster funding would be terrific. >> thank you. as a follow-up, what role can its play in developing technologies to more efficiently use spectrum resources? >> thank you you for the question. that is very insightful. i wanted to make sure i said this and i think in my opinion ids is the best at what they do. so i think some of the collaboration its has done with industry and also with the federal government in terms of innovation, what we can do in industry and federal government has come up with ideas and then ntis can substantiate those ideas. they can build models, tools, some of what they are doing now. they built a tool to support spectrum sharing in the aws band. i think allowing them the funding they need to get going, allowing a collaboration with other experts in the industry, i think that will help bring about what we are looking for. >> sounds good. thank you and i yield back. that was my time. >> thank you. the chair now recognizes for five minutes to ask questions. >> thank you. the internet is integral to our daily lives. from online education, e-commerce, telehealth, smart agriculture, access to high-speed internet is essential for all central floridians. we need a big promise and to put our money where our mouth was with the infrastructure law. $65 billion for high-speed internet for rural broadband. it will be key for rural areas of florida as well as low income areas of florida that right now do not have equal access to internet. the federal option for an additional 18 months makes sense. we must carefully make spectrum available to the private sector, balance against the fence and aviation concerns, and this is going to help us with that balance. i applaud the smart act which is the standardized spectrum sharing framework. we also see more specific legislation on the agenda today to help victims of domestic violence and human trafficking by requiring providers to prove separate lines. i have heard horror stories in our district of victims being -- [no audio] -- and how that can put folks into danger. there are many areas of the sunshine state also. this will be a key to the emergency response. it would be great to hear a little more about some examples of how there are interagency hangups, barriers, and conflicts as we are trying to deploy a new spectrum. what actually happens on the day-to-day to slow the stuff down and how does the smart act address that? >> thank you for that question. on a day to day basis i think the coordination between the agencies is quite good. there is a relationship at the staff level between the agencies. what is difficult is when we are asking agencies to put away attention from their day-to-day missions and to focus on finding ways to free up spectrum for other users. as i mentioned before, what we need are incentives for the federal agencies to focus and to provide the engineering that is necessary in order to determine how we can utilize spectrums are there more efficiently or repurpose it for other uses. >> please continue. >> go ahead. >> do you believe the smart act would help address this? >> on certain things it would. it is important the ntia has that capability and ntia's authority to bolster and recognize as the manager of federal spectrum. for purposes of sharing it would definitely help ntia fulfill its mission and work with the ftc to find more ways to share spectrum. >> so it helps the work you do. my constituents would be shocked to know that domestic violence and human trafficking victims cannot even separate a shared line from their attackers. i was looking at your testimony, roughly open a dozen or in -- dozen states provide production. so 38 states have nothing to help victims of domestic violence get away from something as essential as having their own cell phone. he also mentioned requiring a court order. so does this legislation, will it help those 38 states and will need a court order will be -- or will we be able to fast-track this going forward? >> thank you for the question. it certainly would help all those people in states where there are no existing protections. and thankfully the bill as currently drafted would not require the burden of trying to seek a court order to force the phone company to do this. the survivor it would have to provide that documentation from a third party to get the line separation that they would not have to go to court to be able to do it. that would be a big change even for those folks and many of the other states where there are some limited protections for them. but as you point out, for folks in other states who currently lack any legal recourse to do this, it would make a big difference. >> thanks. i am proud of this legislation to make sure empowering victims and i yield back. >> thank you. the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes mr. long for five minutes. >> thank you. as you can probably see on the wall behind me, my 42-year-old auctioneer license plate from here in missouri. so i have a long, long history auctioneer in before i went to congress 12 years ago. the sec spectrum options helped create wireless services we all enjoy today. every time congress extended the sec auction authority told the fcc to option spectrum. it seems to me that the short-term extension give congress the time we need to find the right band in which to auction. if a short-term is included, does that make the most sense? >> yes. i agree it makes most sense for the reason you articulate. >> thank you. also sticking with you, the national telecommunications and information administration is statutorily responsible for representing federal abuse on spectrum matters for the sec and fcc -- in recent years the process became public attention. how would standardized frameworks contemplated in the smart act improve ntia's ability to represent federal views? >> thank you for that question. we will provide ntia with a more transparent and efficient tool to enable the sharing of federal spectrum. it also recognizes ntia is the manager of spectrum and bolsters its status by that resignation. >> ok. why is it important that ntia maintains its role as spectrum manager from all federal agencies rather than have each agency manage their own spectrum use? >> this is a very important issue. ntia must retain its role as a spectrum manager across all federal agencies. the agencies, spectrum users, and ntia, which manages spectrum used by federal agency. the possibility for managing spectrum within the spectrum user, whether it is agency or commercial user, would present an inherent conflict of interest. even if the ntia does not manage its own spectrum. [indiscernible] managing spectrum is not among their missions. they have to balance duty to ensure federal agencies can per arm there duty of working with the fcc to enhance the u.s. economy. to perform this mission well, ntia must remain a regulator and be bolstered as the agency that makes these difficult decisions. >> thank you. i told you i was a fast talker so i yield back, one minute and 45 seconds. >> the chair now recognizes ms. rice for five minutes. >> thank you some much. i would like to continue along with rep. long's questions. i hear you on ntia remaining the manager of all the spectrum. what i have heard a lot about his ways that we can make that management more efficient. i would just like to go back a step can you tell us the ways that spectrum is being inefficiently used in order for us to make sure that we come up with ways to make sure that management is as efficient as possible? and maybe give example of either specific bands that have been historically been underused or that are right for repurpose and. -- repurpose and. -- repurposing. >> thank you. ntia actually has an efficient way of managing spectrum, in that it facilitates more sharing between silo agencies than what you see at the fcc licensing process which tends to be more exclusive licensing. that can also create certain inefficiencies. for example, when ntia approved systems that have similar products, utilizing different bands for those products for different reasons. this happened in the one gigahertz band where you had the faa, dod, i believe noaa that have similar products that they utilize, that they are utilizing them in ways that can be consolidated, and therefore they will be more spectrum freed up. that is one example of inefficiencies that can be addressed. >> are we addressing them, or how do we address them so that we make sure that this limited, finite resource we have is managed most efficiently? >> honestly, yes of course ntia is constantly setting ways to make the uses more efficient. they are told to manage the system which is quite antiquated. it would be helpful in creating transparency of federal users. and increasing the incentive for federal agencies to study their own victims and -- systems and find ways to repurpose once they have. >> thank you so much. that is very helpful. i would like to turn to dr. valentina if i can. legislation like hr4275 is important because it will help -- we talked about this all morning. why eligible individuals and up and rolling, and more often why they do not enroll in lifeline. while this is focused on lifeline enrollment and snap eligible individuals, it should offer important lessons for every agency and program that qualify a consumer for lifeline. for instance, more than 10% of lifeline beneficiaries are veterans. even though just .08% of participants, one out of every 1000, are qualified for the program through their veteran pension or survivor pension. so are there ways for those department of veterans affairs and other relevant agencies to improve coordination and outreach around the lifeline and acp programs some more qualifying veterans are able to take full advantage of the program? >> thank you so much for the question. as the daughter of two veterans, the sibling of a veteran, i am glad you raised this because i think veterans are often a group left out of these conversations when we are talking about the digital divide. they make so many sacrifices for our country and also folks who deal with multiple levels of marginalization. for example, black veterans, one third of all veterans experiencing homelessness are black veterans. i think we need a whole of government approach to getting households enrolled in the lifeline program, in the affordability program as well. and we need to make sure that if someone signs up for a program at the v.a., they sign-up up for a program at usda, they are immediately bona fide -- notified of all the other programs they are eligible for including lifeline program and the affordable connectivity program. >> that is good to know. i want to thank the witnesses so much and the ranking member for bringing this hearing today. thank you and i yield back. >> thank you. the chair now recognizes mr. wahlberg for five minutes to ask questions. mr. wahlberg? are you hearing us? we can't hear you. let's go on to somebody else. long has already gone. >> can you hear me now? >> yes i can. >> sorry about that. sometimes technology does not work in a tech committee, i guess. i thank the witnesses for being here today about a number of extremely important bills. first i want to highlight the importance of hr7132. i join my colleagues as the lead republican on this legislation because no one should ever have to make the choice between staying connected and staying safe. this bipartisan bill allows survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and other harms two separate -- to separate their phone line from any line shared with an abuser without worrying about penalties or other requirements. it also directs the fcc to examine further ways to support and protect survivors after the disconnect. plans can be used by abusers to continue stalking or controlling their victims and arduous paperwork should not be another impediment to survivors getting to safety. i'm extremely heartened by the broad support this legislation has had. the wire industry working closely with domestic violence groups. i know that we here in the house can do the same. dr. cordry, your testimony outlines the patchwork of state laws that currently exist to address digital abuse and shared mobile service contracts. in what ways does the safe connections act strengthen current laws to make gaining digital freedom easier for survivors, and also what gaps still remain? >> thank you for the question. i think it really sets a foundation from which we can expand protection for survivors. that is making it easier, cheaper, and more accessible for survivors to get out of family fun plans that pose them the risks i discussed this morning. it also empowers the fcc to engage in some really wise and innovative rulemaking to try and provide further protection. for example, the provision in the bill that is before you that would have the sec look into concealing communications with domestic violence hotlines from phone bills would be of crucial importance to survivors as they try and safety plan and get out of an abusive relationship. similarly the efforts to expand access to the lifeline plan, as my fellow expert has so compellingly told us, it is so essential and trying to close the digital divide. so i commend those aspects of the bill. >> thank you. also, the legislation tasks, the federal communications commission will determine which program is best suited to provide emergency communications work for survivors. which of these programs do you recommend for this purpose? >> i cannot say i have a firm view either way on that one. i think some of the other legislation before your subcommittee today to try and gain a better understanding of how these programs are used or unfortunately more often not used by people, could be really important and trying to figure out which plan makes the most sense. i do think providing that kind of support through one plan or the other would be very important for survivors. >> thank you. while all of my questions have been asked about hr7783, i want to applaud that legislation. this short-term extension will ensure we have an uninterrupted and more coordinated spectrum pipeline. and it is key to the united states remaining a leader in 5g deployment and beyond. for that reason, the continued efforts and this legislation need to be carried out, and i stand in strong support. with that, i yield back my remaining 38 seconds. >> thank you. the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes mr. schrader for five minutes to ask questions. >> thank you very much. appreciate the hearing we are having here today. mr. gibson, interference is a potentially huge hazard to the aviation industry, both military and civilian. i want to know if you could speak to the issues about wireless interference, and what is the state of testing going on to make sure with spectrum availability options that are going on that that would be minimized, or if at all possible, potentially eliminated. we have had discussions in this committee about interference for quite some time. what are the standards and how are they being allocated at this point in time? >> that is an excellent question and there are a lot of areas where that is pertinent. what is the inefficient -- i am not in the middle of that and i'm not qualified to comment other than knowing the issues as a pilot. what i know is there is a lot of work being done with key leadership and key engineers from the faa, fcc, and wireless carriers, and they are doing their level best to mitigate that. the new band being considered where there may be some aviation interest is the 3100 3400 megahertz band. at least from what we know about it, and some of this information is classified, and some of us is coming to us piecemeal. the issues are with respect to onboard radar. there is no safety of flight interference issues in that band. then there is generally potential interference issues with aviation in general, like a potential for interference with navigation commissions. we are familiar with the issue that occurred years ago with potential interference with gps. a lot of that is being dealt with now in the context of studies that are being taken care of in the ntia and fcc. and for the most part the only major issue we are still facing right now with that is the one going on in the sea band and as far as i can tell that is on the path to being resolved in time. >> related question is, is there a timeframe within which -- it seems if we are doing all these spectrum options it would be extremely important to have this issue resolved, at least for the near term, until we learn differently based on the best knowledge at hand about what interference potential there is. federal and nonfederal agencies as well as military and civilian aviation seems like they ought to have this figured out before we go too far down the lawn going forward. realizing that our best efforts and knowledge at this point i change it but at least have a standard protocol that everyone should count on. >> that is an excellent point. with respect to the cheap band, that effort is ongoing. what i can tell you going on is as you well know by the legislation the band will be auctioned before it no earlier than november of 2024. i was in a daylong meeting yesterday trying to better understand how the inequities that are owned by the dod net band can better share with commercial operations. our goal in network piece to establish a understanding of use cases both from federal mostly dod and commercial use and then try to have solutions for sharing print we understand the primary goal is to not have interference, especially with some dod systems being dealt with, but also with commercial systems. >> it is important for our committee to have a hearing on this bring in the fcc and ntia and have a discussion about time frames and working with civilian and other federal agencies to come up with a game plan. otherwise we may be ending up still studying things as these options transpire. last question, and it was hinted at before. why extend the authority for only a short period of time? i understand the answer is we don't have options coming up. but why are we not just extending the authority for the fcc to do these options indefinitely? they will take time, a great deal of work goes into studying the effects, who is interested, who is not, what potential problems might be. so at this point where we not just giving this authority to the fcc so we don't have so many months put it at danger? >> there was a good point about that earlier mostly related to the fact we don't have any options keyed up in the near future. certainly beyond the horizon for the 18 months. i would also note the commission is down a commissioner and some folks in key bureaus are acting. 18 months seems to be an appropriate timeframe, all things considered. >> very good. i yield back. >> thank you. the gentleman has yielded back. the chair now recognizes mr. carter for five minutes to ask questions. >> thank you. and i think all the witnesses for being here. very important hearing. very important. as you know, i have introduced resolution 4990, which is simply to codify the institute for telecommunications services. also directed the assistant secretary of commerce to establish an initiative that will support the development of communications and track new technologies. the main emphasis of it is really for the institute for telecommunication sciences. as you know, it is ntia's lab and it's important for test and research to solve the challenges that we have of the technical issues. can you please speak to the importance of ips and how this bill will strengthen it in the lab's important work? >> yes. thank you for that question. ntia has a very technical mission between sector management, supporting technical and transitioning for commercial uses. i conduct a story -- study for sharing. about how to manage spectrum more efficiently and how to avoid interference. this includes conducting studies for sec that affects federal users. the work is very important in supporting existing spectrum users and ensuring there is no interference but finding innovative ways to use spectrum and enabling decision-making that allows that. >> great. i would ask you the same thing. what role do you think idf will be in improving the interagency spectrum coordination mission? >>. they are the engineering basis for these discussions. they are the ones that provide the proof of how things are going to work. so it is very important for these discussions so we do not just rely on generalized discussions. we actually have a conversation about how to utilize spectrum. >> let me ask you this. it is obviously critical to ensure the fcc has the option for spectrum. you note in your testimony there is a need for better spectrum coordination. based on your experiences at ntia i am curious, what we need to do to ensure the long-standing interagency spectrum process works? >> thank you for that question. i think the most important thing we need to be doing is recognizing ntia's statutory role as a manager of federal spectrum. federal agencies are not happy with the decision made then utilize outside the coordination process to continue to litigate some of the issues. that is just not healthy to have a strong sector of management process. bolstering ntia's decision is important. the white house needs to strongly support ntia and reinforce its role as a federal spectrum manager. if i can also put in a plug. if congress would see fit to elevate the assistant secretary it would greatly help with his or her position in the future in negotiations with high level representatives from other agencies. >> why would it help to be elevated? >> it is amazing how protocols sometime falling to play with these types of negotiations. if you have an assistant secretary sitting in a room there are times when perhaps the staff may be unwilling to allow that kind of negotiation to happen. that has happened in the past. they have sat down with the deputy secretary of defense to talk about repurposed thing spectrum and management of spectrum generally. it is a protocol issue but it definitely helps. >> ok. thank you and i yield back. >> thank you very much. the chair recognizes for five minutes to ask questions. >> thank you. we know more than ever that broadband must be more accessible for all americans to succeed. about 30 -- this is about 12% of our total u.s. population. we also know too many eligible people do not know this program exists. snap recipients automatically qualify for the lifeline program offers discounted phone and internet service. more than 33 million households are eligible to receive halftime support yet only one in four of those households in the united states actually takes advantage of it. this question, how does the fcc's lifetime program among federal programs health close the digital leviathan what can the federal government to include -- improve access to low-cost broadband service and help increase dissipation rates and public awareness in all communities including underserved communities and rural america? >> affordability is often cited as the biggest barrier preventing communities from adopting broadband. the lifeline program is the strongest tool we have to hope bridge the affordability gap by lowering the cost of monthly broadband services for millions of households as you stated. both of these programs are very under subscribed. i think public-private partnerships are really important. as we saw a few weeks ago at the white house the recent event where they announced commitments that increased dramatically awareness around that program. we also have to make sure that we are prioritizing the funding of trusted organizations that are working on the ground to reach communities where they are. >> thank you. and thank you for earlier reminding us how important it is we try and reach out and support our veterans because of the disproportionality of veterans not connecting to the internet and disproportionality of veterans who are homeless. the lifeline program has helped millions connect to vital tools. the bill introduced by my colleagues ensuring phone and internet access for snap recipients as a 2021 would help lower the cost of phone and internet access for families that benefit from the snap program. i commend my colleagues are working on this issue and i look forward to working with them to ensure all american emily's have the vital resources they deserve to have access to. when it comes to wi-fi, i am glad today's legislative hearing includes a discussion of hr 7783. introduced by my fellow colleague. congress must act now to ensure they have a continuing supply of spectrum they need to keep the united states at the forefront of global 5g investment and innovation. never has the value of wi-fi been more apparent than during the covid-19 pandemic. even though spectrum options raised funds directly from the u.s. treasury how can congress better account for the vast economic and societal benefits offered by unlicensed spectrum when identifying spectrum bands for commercial use? >> thank you so much for that question. it is a very good question. i would refer you to the letter the chairwoman wrote to the leaders of the commerce committee in the senate and house. she talks about how to value unlicensed spectrum which is used for wi-fi. in order to demonstrate or take into account the tremendous economic value that unlicensed has given to our economy as it conducts spectrum bills it only does so often for spectrum but the balancing effect is tremendous for the economy. looking at ways to do that would be very helpful. >> thank you very much. and once again we have some incredibly talented commissioners and the chairwoman i have known for many years and has been working really hard on this issue and trying to be as innovative as possible and incredibly accessible to constituents like mine across the country. with that, i will yield back. >> the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes ms. kelly for five minutes to ask questions. >> thank you. you mentioned in your testimony how corporate or grams meant to help abused victims are often so poorly advertised that victims are highly unlikely to even know they exist. other times the process of leaving a family plan can be a complex burden and risky. beyond what is required in the safe connection act are there other things wireless service providers can do to help make it easier for victors -- victims to leave a family plan? >> thank you for the question. certainly there are. one thing that springs to mind is providers could allow survivors to leave family plans based solely on a survivor's own sworn attestation of abuse. although the safe communications -- safe connections act requires documentation there is no reason why companies cannot allow people to leave family plans based on their own affidavit. i think that is one thing they could do. they could also certainly do more to warn account holders about the potential risks from family phone plans. i think an earlier version of this bill had a provision that required adults of 18 years or older to opt into any of these monitoring features on a family plan such as location information that could be shared. although that is no longer in the bill i see no reason why phone companies could not do that and why they should not do that. i firmly believe they should. those are just a couple ideas of what they could do of their own volition. >> thank you. as many of my colleagues are aware, representation at big tech for women and minorities is abysmal. there is only one woman to every 3.76 men employed at the big tech companies. amazon, apple, facebook, google and microsoft racial diversity is also a concern with 77.1% of startup founders being white and only 1.8% black. those numbers do not load well for creating teams equipped to empathize with victims of digital abuse who are overwhelmingly women, racial minorities and sexual minorities. can you discuss how lack of representation in the tech industry can further harm survivors and what steps companies can take to do more to protect women, racial minorities and sexual minorities? >> that is an excellent question and a really important issue. not only must these companies engage actively with questions of diversity in hiring, as of the other experts earlier mentioned -- [no audio] -- actually listening to survivor stories and experiences and stop treating them as rare or unusual is crucial. even a language that gets used in the tech industry of these situations being treated as edge cases is really problematic. they are not edge cases. they should be seen as stress cases. she's talked about this. even that kind of terminology is important. >> thank you. the lifeline program is very underutilized with a rate that hovers around 19% or 6.5 million households, despite estimates that more than 34 million households are eligible. can you discuss the disproportional effect this has on low income individuals, women, and people of color, and how we can work to reach those who would benefit most from the program? >> yes. thank you so much for the question. when we are talking about folks who are connected we are talking about our most vulnerable population which includes domestic violence survivors, people experiencing homelessness, people of color in lower wage jobs. the lack of connectivity impacts one's ability to have access to health care, have access to government services that are online, and even impacting one's ability to state connected to family and friends. it cannot be underscored enough this is also about the economic opportunity gap. we are leaving these groups behind with innotech ecosystem and when we are not connecting them to broadband and all the opportunities associated with broadband. we have to be able to lean on groups that have connections in the communities, fund these groups, and also meet more outreach efforts on the federal level. >> thank you so very >> i yield back. thank you. >> the chair now recognizes, for five minutes to ask questions. >> thank you. i am grateful we are holding this hearing and the witnesses being here today. today's hearing reflects the bipartisan work that the committee has been able to accomplish to help connect millions in urban and rural america, to maintain a robust telecommunications ever structure -- infrastructure. especially in areas like you're in the dells fort worth area, never parlay country. dr. valentine, first of all congratulations on your recent transitions the national urban league. my first question deals with hr 4275. ensuring phone and internet access for staff persistent -- snap recipients. it requires the fcc to submit reports on enrollment in the lifeline program by those participating in snap. according to the usac in texas there are approximately 2.7 million lifeline eligible households. yet only 200 the thousand are subscribed, a 10% -- 280 thousand are subscribed, a 10% participation in the program. that is much lower than the national rate of precipitation is around 90% or so. -- 19% or so. is that should also be extended beyond lifeline to include the acp, the long-term version of the emergency broadband program we introduced at the beginning of the pandemic. can you extend -- talk about the benefits of extending this bill to go beyond the lifeline program and include a report on the enrollment on the affordable connectivity program by snap recipients? >> thank you so much for the question and take you for your leadership on the affordable connectivity program as well. to answer this question by saying, we need both the lifeline program as well as the affordable connectivity program. when you are applying for benefits, you can only apply it to either local services or your wired line services. there are households across the country the need both. we need to understand the data from both of those programs. hopefully will also help us understand, for example, if it needs to increase and how we can better correlate the programs as well. >> dr. valentine you also talked in your opening statement about the support for -- to hire from underrepresented community beyond entry-level positions and increase diversity. many of these auction winners have also made commitments to incorporate racial equity initiatives into their businesses. do you think these winners are delivering on the promises? >> i think we can always do better. honestly, this is something that the national urban league has been working on for years. the more we can integrate equity and inclusion into companies the better. it goes across the board from workers to the c suite, two at the community investments are of these companies. >> i know that sometimes come people will say was better for congress to stay on the sidelines and let the private sector work all of this out. or we need some help from congress, you think there is anything congress can do to incentivize oxen winters to hire, retain, -- auction winners to hire, retain, promote? >> anything in the space be welcome, need to make sure that all communities are benefiting from this booming ecosystem. >> absolutely. with that, i yield back. thank you to the panelists. it was a very useful topic today. i yield back. >> the gentleman coming yield back. the chair now recognizes miss clark to ask questions for five minutes. >> thank you very much at madam chair for convening this important hearing and thank you you to our panelist of fury -- witnesses for your expert choate -- testimony. it is necessary for all eligible families to take advantage of the programs like the lifeline program. ensuring internet access for snap recipients requires the fcc to submit reports on the various advertising efforts of the program. could you elaborate on how these reports can insist in increasing the utilization of the lifeline program among snap recipients? >> we really need to know where the gaps persist. i would say that something, as a relates to outreach efforts that we can lean on in the national urban league talked about in recent comments of the sec, the cdc had a program, partnering for vaccine equity grant program. that is a model that the sec can use. the national urban league with conjunction with our amazing affiliates, we were able to train 76 thousand trusted messengers. we were able to open to open non--- vaccination sites, and do about a thousand events and reach 32 million people our efforts. if we are able to copy those efforts for the affordable connectivity program that would be amazing. in order to do those things we have to have ending to do so. >> got. -- got it. it is set to expire in september of this year, the auctions have been used to fund key initiatives like the first responder network authority. by the extending the sec network spectrum -- fcc network spectrum auction authority, would you opine a bit on other essential programs that could be funded through auction proceeds? >> thank you congresswoman. i did not advocate for any particular program. that all sounds terrific. none in order of priority. gentlemen -- the chairwoman has assisted in utilizing spectrum auction proceeds to fund next-generation 911. i think a be a great use of this program. i have also heard that, support for funding for new equity programs. to continue our desire to get as much uptake as possible of broadband so everyone can benefit from the economy. i have also heard that perhaps he could be utilized to continue the rip and replace efforts to replace chinese men -- manufactured agreement with non-chinese, something more secure. these are things i've heard. >> thank you, i appreciated. hr 7132 requires service providers to provide information for providers seeking to separate from a shared mobile service contract or a website in a visible location in other forms of consumer munication. in your -- communication. in your testimony you said school providers are offering voluntarily similar programs against digital abuse. would it be unlikely for a survivor to find this information on a providers website or a physical store if they are not a primary account holder? especially if the information is not primarily displayed. what would additional outreach efforts look like three just many survivors through this legislation? >> that is an excellent point and part of the concern, it is possible for secondary account holders to engage with phone companies, either on person or online. what is driving the legislation is the monitoring that these plans enabled. having configured as information available, is not a panacea. i agree that many people or be in conditions where they frankly not be able to make use of some of the production -- protections of this bill unless it is supplemented with other assets. in terms of additional outreach etiquette is important to educate folks on the -- educate -- there are other great groups doing this, people do not know about the legal protections that exist that are designed to help them they simply will not use them. >> thank you, i yield back. thank you. unmute yourself. >> thank you. the gentlelady goes back -- yield back. the chair recognizes him for five minutes. >> thank you. dr. ballantine, when the comments made during this is to establish the affordable connectivity program as part of the bipartisan info structure plan -- infrastructure plan. it allows households to access internet. how can we, help our constituents learn more about programs like this one? >> thank you so much for the question. the first piece of advice i would give members of congress is to partner with the national urban league in our local affiliates to get the word out. also partner with small owned businesses, particularly those owned by people of color that are trusted in local communities, we cannot estimate -- underestimate the power of paid media, media organizations owned by people of color. i would also add to members of congress, to make sure you are allocating funds for outreach organizations that are known and trusted in the community. also lean on the resource that the federal communications commission's, is doing a great job with outreach and they have had hundreds of events at this point in time. they are always accepting speaker requests. >> i thank you for that answer. in your testimony, spectrum auctions can be used with digital equity efforts. what could be funded in your judgment? >> when we thinking about digital equity and must be thought about modly and must include affordability -- thought about broadly and must include affordability. one idea that is out there is the use of the spectrum auction, will also need funds for devices, for the affordable connectivity program, a one-time discount on a device. what happens when the device breaks? what happens when it is outdated and it can no longer run new software? i can also say we can use these funds to help upscale and re-skill workers, particularly workers of colors for the digital economy. >> are like to turn to you, in your testimony, you left us with some interesting thoughts about the family phone plans. and challenges to victims of abuse. i do not have a lot of time left. let me ask you this question. [indiscernible] they do not have control of their primary economic resources. >> this is a very important issue, as i said and my testimony, victims rely on munication technologies as a lifeline. that is why the program is called what it is. the abuse does not have a fixed expiration date, there is no neat line in the sand after the victim leaves in the violence suddenly ends. thinking about ways the programs can help support in a more enduring way. it is a crucially important, especially now given our recruiting -- increasing alliance -- reliance on technology during the pandemic. >> thank you, can you summarize some of the challenging dangers to victims of abuse? >> absolute, if i may i might use the time to share a story from our work that are think is illustrative and brings the point home. we had one client that became concerned there partner was able to routinely find out where they were and who they were communicating with. they were on a family phone plan together, she tried to leave the plan by calling the phone company. the company told her that there was another account holder they needed to contact. without the -- without informing the client they dialed the abuser into a three way conference line. not only did he read -- refuse, was deeply traumatic. even when they were informed of a fake law that would allow it, she declined to move forward because she was so scarred by the situation. this is what we should be trying to avoid through this bill. >> i thank you, i think you -- thank the witnesses and the madam chair. i'll back. -- i yield back. >> thank you so much. for having this hearing today, strengthening our communications network has been a very important and interesting hearing. i want to thank our witnesses for testifying before us today. our colleagues and witnesses have noted today, digital technology are essential parts of our daily lives. at the same time, because these technologies are so connected to our lives, they can also be used as methods of surveillance and control for those in unsafe situations. like many of my colleagues i'm deeply concerned about what we have seen, especially recently about the use of technology to track individuals. even the ability for others to buy that data. that issue, some of the app tracking issues that we are talking about lately are not in this hearing. i do think they are connected to the larger issues of privacy and safety in the legislation that we are discussing today even in the state connections act. they are the sponsor of that bill, this is a really important bill for supporting survivors of demetra -- domestic abuse. as the witnesses have mentioned, my colleagues have mentioned, that story you just shared really illustrates that in my home state of texas 40% of women and 35% of men experience intimate partner violence, rape, or stocking in a lifetime. this will help them disentangle their lives by allowing them to separate their lines and get off these family plans. i want to follow-up on some of these questions, in particular, you mentioned in your testimony that the national domestic violence hotline, a cell -- saw a 25% increase -- 155% increase in the past year. is there any explanation or theory for why that is the case? do you anticipate that the rise in digital abuse will continue as digital technology becomes even more interwoven in our daily lives? >> thank you, absently. part of it is a story of how we are relying on technology more. it goes beyond that. it goes to your point earlier, is the type of technology that we are using, is massive and summary of the digital technologies prevalent these days prioritizes extracting as much data from us. this creates all sorts of risks as we see with family phone plans and other technologies used to perpetrate abuse these days. that is one part of the story. another is that the technology often allows people to perpetrate harm from afar with relative anonymity and secrecy so proving who behind it could be difficult. the other thing is the trivialization of digital abuse is an important part of the story. it is less likely to be taken seriously. it is less likely people identified as abuse, less likely they will speak up. it can cut both ways, it might mean the statistics are low because people are underreporting. part of the rise could be fueled by people feeling like they can get away with it and gets more serious. i do not want to paint too pessimistic a picture. you asked if it will keep rising and in some ways i do. with the important caveat, that does not mean that kind of pragmatism or realism means we should give up. to the contrary we should be thinking creatively and empathetically to try and come up with ways to mitigate and address this kind of abuse. >> thank you so much, that is incredibly helpful. i would love to ask he as a follow-up, maybe all of our witnesses to weigh in in writing following the hearing. what kind of other issues of privacy and safety that you have identified in your work that our committee and the congress should be looking at to ensure the safety and protection for users? we have some great bills in front of us today. this is one of many steps. as you mentioned there are a lot of things we should be looking at. i would love any of our witnesses could join us today would share those thoughts for the record and submit that testimony in writing. and have a few seconds left, thank you all for your time and work. thank you for convening the hearing and i yield back. >> the chair now recognizes mr. joyce for five minutes to ask questions. >> thank you for allowing me to weigh in on the subcommittee hearing. thank you to all the witnesses for testifying. spectrum is vital for bridging the digital divide in my district as well as across the entirety of the nine states. last -- the united states. last week i introduced hr 7793 extending the spectrum auction leadership act by 2022. to extend the generous auction authority by 18 months, by extending the authority, it allows for more opportunity to help rural americans seek the connectivity that right now they so desperately need. as we've seen during this pandemic more and more people are working, learning, and healing from home. that requires additional broadband support. congress must continue to show leadership on spectrum policy. i implore my colleagues for the swift passage of hr 7793. assuming auction authority is extended, what reforms can be named to the rules to promote international competitiveness, maximize efficiency, and foster the wealth of deployment of next generation technology? >> thank you very much for that question. i certainly agree with you that the spectrum auctions are important to ensure the rapid deployment of services in our areas including rural areas. in terms of either changes, read with tory changes that could be made -- revelatory changes that made. one is practical. right now the fcc have fantastic engineers. it is a very difficult field to hire in. the private sector keeps stealing all the good engineers and give them much better benefits and much better salaries. one thing that could be done is to give authority to the fcc to actually hire at market rates similar to what they did back in 2000. it is just practical, it would help a lot to be able to have the engineering resources on staff to be able to quickly ask and conduct the engineering stories -- studies. continuing to support research and development both the sec -- fcc as well as to support industry representation in the engineering standards body would also be important. >> thank you for the insight. mr. gibson, x suit -- assuming the auction authority is extended, what policy reforms would you recommend two promote competitiveness, maximization, and deployment? >> in addition to what she said, one thing i was just -- i would suggest a stronger collaboration between federal and commercial users. i mentioned, you may have missed this, a beauty segment with sharing issues with the megahertz band. what is happening as we are moving more towards collaboration, official lysing it -- official lysing it. bettel -- better compensation for experts, also taking advantage of experts in commercial and collaboration. finding a collaboration framework that allows collaboration without conflict of interest. it might be threating than people -- threading the needle a little bit complexly. >> do you agree we in congress should make a priority to work on long-term spectrum pipeline bill? >> thank you for the question. if i may add to my prior answer, reforming the spectrum relocation funds for additional incentive. i do think is important for congress to work on a spectrum bill, a pipeline bill. >> thank you, i see my time is expiring, i yield back. >> the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes ms. custer for her five minutes to ask questions. >> thank you metal chair and thank you for allowing me to -- madam chair and thank you for allowing me onto the subcommittee. many americans have benefited from technological advantages. many of us take advantage daily. we also know, 95% of domestic abuse cases involve technology and countless others have suffered or perpetrated abuse online. i am so grateful for your expertise and your experience. in your testimony you defined digital abuse as people exporting technology to harm others. specifically involving the use of technology to control, harass, dox, harass -- survey, that threatens someone emotionally, physically, financially. can you describe how family friends that you describe at -- family plans that you describe as a snake in the grass can be tools such abuse? >> one source of common information, is just a phone bill or account records. it reveals details about communications and can also provide clues about their location such as the area codes they are calling. or call patterns there making. some family plans allow an abuser to listen to a victim's voicemails and sometimes even see their text messages. these kinds of surveillance, this level of surveillance in this type of surveillance creates this justified anxiety as much as anything else. i think that is what is at stake here. >> thank you for your good work and i am proud to have introduced the safe connection act, a bipartisan bill with the house subcommittee chair presented of -- presented. it provides a clear template for survivors to work with their phone carriers to exit the plan they share with their abusers. can you explain how police say connection act will help you survivors? >> certainly. i think, although a victim could simply abandon their phone, theoretically, and maybe avoid some of the risks i have talked about during my testimony today, there are many reasons why that might actually do them more harm than good. phones are so often a lifeline amideven the ones associated currently with leaving a family -- family phone plan. even if they have the funds to be able to leave, they can still encounter business from a phone company that has no legal obligation to honor line requests. the act would give them the right to leave safely and quickly and would be hugely important. >> thank you for that, and i think you may have addressed this question, but i will just ask it quickly, survivors of digital abuse of limited resources are often unaware that they may qualify for participation in several programs that provide a discount and phone and broadband services, such as a lifeline and affordable connectivity program. but the safe connection act requires the ftc to allow survivors facing financial hardships to enroll in one of these programs as quickly as possible, whether or not they otherwise meet the qualification for the program so they can receive a discount for a short amount of time while they are getting back -- while they are getting back on your fee. why is it important to ensure that these abuse survivors are able to maintain communications services after they are allowed to separate from the shared account with their abuser? >> happy to reiterate on this point because it is so important, and it shows that people remaining deeply precarious positions long after they leave a relationship in one form of an -- or another. being connected through the phone is crucial in regaining their independence and in guarding against future abuse. again, this was always true, but it feels important to stress that these last two years are reliant on technology increasingly, in the way that many of our interactions have been filtered through technology more and more have increased this risk of digital abuse, but it means it's more important for us than ever to use our devices safely, whether it's social connections, work, ordering food, testifying before congress, all of these different ways it just shows how important it is, so survivors should be entitled to do that safely. >> thank you, and thank you, dr. for your work. i asked the many members of the bipartisan task force to end violence and i'm pleased to see the safe connection zack to come forward today at this hearing. thank you, i yield back. >> the gentlelady yields back. at this time i request unanimous consent to enter the following documents into the record. the competitive carriers association in support of congressional efforts to extend the federal communications commission general spectrum authority. in public knowledge and open technology institute without objection so ordered. i would like to thank today's witnesses and the committee members for participating in this hearing today. it has been informative and educational in a sense that everyone here has agreed upon the importance of these bills in a bipartisan manner. so i want to thank you all very much for participating. my members are pursuing to committee rules have 10 business days to submit additional questions for the record to be answered by the witnesses who have appeared. i asked the witnesses to respond to such questions that you may receive. at this

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