Jacky Rosen Grills Commerce Department Nominee About Unfreezing Congressionally Appropriated Funding

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During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing last week, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) spoke about the withholding of congressionally appropriated funding for the BEAD internet connectivity program.

Transcript

00:00Thank you. Senator Rosen.

00:02Well, before I begin my questions, I want to, well, of course, thank you, Chair Cruz,

00:06and thank you to a nominee for your willingness to serve again. But I want to associate myself

00:11with what Senator Lujan has been speaking about, because our MVDAs are very important. In Nevada,

00:18as you might or might not know, 99% of businesses in Nevada are small businesses, many of them

00:23minority businesses. We rely heavily on these services, and so I just want to support my

00:29colleague on that. I'm going to move on to something I know we also care about is our

00:35bead proposals. So Nevada's bead proposal was approved over three months ago. The Department

00:40of Commerce has still not released the $417 million allocated to connect all Nevadans to

00:46high-speed, reliable internet. The proposal is tech-neutral, cost-effective, uses all of

00:53its funding to building broadband to reach 100% of unserved Nevadans, 100%. We have a

00:59rural frontier state, the most mountainous state in the lower 48. Each type of technology

01:05is used, with over 10% of our unserved locations to be covered by satellite. Nevada Beads Awards

01:11average cost per location is so much lower than any federally funding broadband programs in

01:17the state in recent years. So, Mr. Dubar, I'd like to just again ask you a simple yes or

01:22no question. If confirmed, will you commit to releasing the funding for the Nevada Beads

01:29proposal? It has been approved. It has been fully approved. It's tech-neutral, cost-effective,

01:34fulfills the mission of bringing high-speed, reliable broadband to every Nevadan. Will you

01:40commit to releasing that funding? Yes or no?

01:42I will commit to certainly look at improving what's been going on.

01:47I'll take that as a no then. It's been approved. I don't know, Senator. I apologize for not

01:54knowing the Nevada... It's been approved. So you're saying you're not going to release

01:59funding that has been approved? If something has been fully approved, then... It has been fully

02:04approved. I would want to make certain it is, Senator. It has been fully approved. I will go under

02:11oath and tell you it has been fully approved according to the proposal. The money has been

02:18frozen. Will you commit to unfreezing approved, appropriated money by the United States Congress?

02:24So, Senator, I feel very passionate about the bead program and the fact that the 14-step processes

02:32have not actually gotten to deployment to Nevada and elsewhere. It's obviously been quite topical by

02:39many people, including recent book. Wow. I agree with you on the general point that I think I hear

02:48from you, amongst others, about that process has not gone as well as it should have. What? But the

02:55process... It's... Our process is complete. I'm trying to be clear. It has been completed. It has been

03:00approved. The money is coming and now it's frozen. So it's not that something is in process or under

03:09review or any of those things. This is a project that has been completed according to the appropriate

03:16specifications and approved. That's all. Well, we'll move on to extreme heat because I know we're... I'm

03:24going to spend my time fighting about this. But Nevada's home to two of the fastest warming

03:29cities in the country, Las Vegas and Reno. And in 2024, our emergency rooms experienced a record number

03:35of visits for heat-related illnesses. And in southern Nevada alone, over 500 people died

03:41as a result of extreme heat. I know in Texas, Chairman's state's pretty hot, too. So you have

03:48some of these similar issues with extreme heat. NOAA's CAP program builds community resilience to extreme

03:55weather. And in Nevada, it supports the Nevada Heat Lab, which focuses on mitigating the effects of

04:01extreme heat and protecting families from extreme heat. So if confirmed, would you support the

04:07continuation of programs like CAP that aim to address the challenges of extreme heat? We just

04:13don't have them in Nevada. Like I said, Texas, known for being pretty hot in the summer. And what role do

04:19you think the Department of Commerce should have in helping us? So NOAA has a broad set on a regional

04:26basis. A lot of them are university-centric for drought and for heat. We have them both. We have

04:33both in Nevada. And also there's some current work being done by what I would think is kind of lower

04:42tech but important things like planes, helicopters, balloons for some of the mapping and providing

04:48feedback and input to farmers and others around the topic. And there's some prospect around using

04:55satellites. And I think moving the technology stack forward on your exact point, Senator, to get

05:02faster information, better information out of NOAA, moving up the technology stack is something I think

05:09would be very valuable for me to look at. Thank you. And if the chairman would indulge me for a question

05:14about tourism. Thank you. I so appreciate it. Travel and tourism are not only the backbone of Nevada's

05:20economy, but I can tell you every single state in this nation, it's a top economic driver for us,

05:26supporting 15 million jobs nationwide. And international tourism contributes over $180 billion

05:32alone towards the U.S. economy. So in the coming years, the U.S. is hosting several important major

05:39international sporting events that attract visitors, of course, from across the country, but from around

05:44the world. This year's Formula One Grand Prix in Las Vegas, to the FIFA World Cup in 26, to the

05:502028 Sumbra Olympics, so much more. Unfortunately, I have concerns that some of the recent administration's

05:58actions could make traveling to the U.S. a little harder, a little less attractive at a crucial time

06:03for us to prioritize tourism, particularly the Olympics. It's just such a shining light for everyone

06:09around the world, and everybody looks forward to that. So Mr. DeBar, have confirmed. Will you ensure

06:15that supporting travel and tourism is a priority at the Department of Commerce, understanding how

06:19important it is to our nation within the Trump administration? And will you work with me to

06:25quickly confirm a qualified individual to serve as the first ever Assistant Secretary for Travel and

06:31Tourism? That was a position I was proud to create through bipartisan legislation with Senators

06:36Wicker, Sullivan, and Klobuchar, and many others on this committee. Yes, Senator. Thank you. I appreciate

06:42it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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