Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act creates an interagency strike force led by the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. Within 180 days after enactment, the Assistant Secretary must establish the strike force to ensure that each federal land management agency and its organizational units prioritize review of communications-use authorization requests. The covered authorizations are easements, rights-of-way, leases, licenses, or similar approvals for locating or modifying communications facilities on public lands or National Forest System land. The strike force includes the Assistant Secretary, heads of federal land management agencies, a designee of the Agriculture Secretary other than the Forest Service Chief, and a designee of the Interior Secretary other than the BLM Director. It must hold periodic calls, establish objective and reasonable review goals, monitor agency accountability, and report within 270 days to House and Senate committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, Commerce, Environment and Public Works, and Agriculture.
Who Benefits and How
Broadband providers benefit because federal agencies must prioritize reviews of communications-use authorizations on public and National Forest lands. Rural and remote communities benefit if faster reviews help broadband facilities reach areas where federal land approvals slow deployment. Communications tower and facility developers benefit from clearer goals for easements, rights-of-way, leases, licenses, and modifications. NTIA benefits from a formal coordination role across federal land-management agencies. Congressional oversight committees benefit from a required report on strike-force effectiveness.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information must create and lead the strike force, run coordination calls, set review goals, and submit the congressional report. The Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and their state, regional, district, field, management-unit, and ranger-district offices must prioritize communications-use authorization reviews and account for progress against the goals. Agriculture and Interior leadership must provide designees. Conservation and public-land users may face faster broadband-facility review timelines on public lands and National Forest System land. Agency staff must track permits and modifications across organizational units.
Key Provisions
- Requires an interagency strike force within 180 days after enactment.
- Covers communications-use authorizations for facilities on public lands and National Forest System land.
- Includes NTIA, federal land-management agency heads, Agriculture, and Interior designees.
- Directs periodic calls, objective review goals, monitoring, and accountability facilitation.
- Requires a report to specified House and Senate committees within 270 days.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires the NTIA Assistant Secretary to establish an interagency strike force within 180 days to prioritize federal land-management review of communications-use authorizations for broadband facilities on public lands and National Forest System land, set review goals, monitor accountability, and report to Congress within 270 days.
Key Policy Areas
Broadband, Public Lands, Telecommunications
Primary Purpose
Requires the NTIA Assistant Secretary to establish an interagency strike force within 180 days to prioritize federal land-management review of communications-use authorizations for broadband facilities on public lands and National Forest System land, set review goals, monitor accountability, and report to Congress within 270 days.
Policy Domains
House resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Broadband providers
- Rural communities
- Communications facility developers
- National Telecommunications and Information Administration
- Congressional oversight committees
Identified Costs
- Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
- Bureau of Land Management
- Forest Service
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of the Interior
- Conservation groups
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to …
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, …
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill …
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules …
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H2978-2979)
At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were …
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate …
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2971-2973)
Mr. Allen moved to suspend the rules and pass the …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Broadband providers, Communications facility developers, Rural communities
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, Bureau of Land Management
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "blm"
- → Bureau of Land Management
- "forest_service"
- → Forest Service
- "assistant_secretary"
- → Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology