FCC Chairman Brendan Carr Emphasizes Plans for ‘High-Speed Infrastructure Bills’ Boosting U.S. Space Economy

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During a House Appropriations Committee hearing before the congressional recess, FCC Chair Brendan Carr spoke about infrastructure innovations.

Transcript

00:00Thank you. Chairman Joyce, Ranking Member Hoyer, distinguished members of the subcommittee,

00:04thank you for the invitation to testify. And I want to start as someone from Virginia that

00:08recognizes the life and legacy of service of Jerry Connolly today. I grew up not far from

00:14his district, so I wanted to recognize him at the outset. Since joining the FCC, I've had the

00:19privilege of testifying before Congress a number of times, including in front of this subcommittee

00:22just last year. But this is my first time appearing before Congress as chairman of the FCC, and

00:28there's some new subcommittee members here. So I want to start with a brief introduction.

00:32I first joined the FCC as a staffer back in 2012, and I've had the privilege of serving in a number

00:38of different roles since then, from an attorney in the Office of General Counsel to a legal advisor

00:43for a commissioner, general counsel of the FCC, before President Trump nominated me to serve as

00:48a commissioner back in 2017. Over these past dozen years, I've had the honor of working alongside some

00:54of the most talented public servants in the federal government. I'm proud of the work they get done

01:00for the American people. And speaking of getting things done, it's been a particularly busy time at

01:06the FCC. We've hit the ground running, and I'd like to highlight some of the commission's critical

01:10work under my leadership so far. To start, we've taken quick action on spectrum. This is important work

01:16because getting additional airwaves into the commercial marketplace drives down prices for

01:22consumers, increases competition, and advances America's national security. To that end, we launched

01:29a new proceeding that looks at freeing up more mid-band spectrum and what's known as the C-band.

01:34We started proceeding to explore creative ways to use the 37 gigahertz band, and we're voting tomorrow

01:40on ideas for more intensive use of multiple gigahertz of spectrum in other bands. Earlier this year, we also

01:48kicked off the process for auctioning AWS-3 licenses, and the proceeds of this will be used to help

01:53facilitate the Rip and Replace National Security Program. More broadly, though, it's important that

01:59Congress restore the FCC's general spectrum auction authority. U.S. leadership in wireless is about more

02:06than connectivity. It's part and parcel of America's geopolitical leadership in national security.

02:14Auctioning spectrum is also good for the Treasury, as spectrum auctions raise hundreds of billions of

02:18dollars in revenue. Restoring FCC auction authority via a robust pipeline of mid-band spectrum,

02:25as President Trump called for just yesterday as part of reconciliation, is one of the most important

02:30steps Congress can take in the near term. Apart from spectrum, the FCC has been busy on other fronts,

02:36too. We're working to unleash new high-speed infrastructure bills, focusing on boosting America's

02:43space economy, launching a massive deregulatory effort in closing dormant proceedings. In parallel with all this,

02:49we're working to protect consumers. This includes expanding the agency's work to combat illegal robocalls and

02:56bolstering our call-blocking rules. The FCC is also taking steps to enhance our national security and public safety.

03:04At the beginning of my time as chairman, I created a new Council on National Security within the FCC that

03:12leverages all of the agency's authorities and relevant work streams to counter the threats posed by foreign

03:18adversaries. The Council is already hard at work, including an ongoing investigation into the U.S.

03:24operations of businesses that were previously placed on the FCC's covered list due to national security risks.

03:30At the same time, the FCC is focused on delivering efficient results. With respect to our current budget,

03:37the FCC is operating successfully under a CR of just over $390 million in addition to additional funding for

03:44our spectrum auction programs. On the workforce front, the FCC employed 1,461 full-time employees at the beginning

03:53of FY25. And as the end of last month, the FCC employs 1,383 outside of our Inspector General operations.

04:02As President Trump and Congress finalize the FCC's fee-funded budget for next year, the agency will keep

04:09delivering great and efficient results for the American people. We're going to do so by accelerating

04:14infrastructure bills, promoting U.S. leadership in wireless, expanding our space economy, eliminating

04:22needless regulations, protecting consumers, including additional work on robocalls, and promoting our

04:28national security and public safety. While we make progress on this, the FCC is also going to be

04:33eliminating waste. We've already started this process and so far found more than $6.7 million in savings

04:39for the remainder of FY25. We've reduced the FCC's authorized contract spend by over a half a billion

04:45dollars. And a lot of the savings come from looking at bloated and duplicative IT contracts.

04:51These savings have had real results for the FCC and the agencies on sustainable financial footing.

04:57In closing, I want to thank you again for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to your questions.

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