D.C. Memo: Sec. Lutnick Lowers the Boom on 'Woke' BEAD Program

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BEAD: The rumors have been swirling for weeks. Yesterday, the swirling stopped after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that big changes are coming to the $42.45 billion BEAD program, the Biden administration’s signature broadband deployment program that failed to connect a single unserved location in three years — “a failure of mass proportions,” in the words yesterday of House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) “Under my leadership, the Commerce Department has launched a rigorous review of the BEAD program,” Lutnick said in a statement. “The Department is ripping out the Biden Administration’s pointless requirements. It is revamping the BEAD program to take a tech-neutral approach that is rigorously driven by outcomes, so states can provide Internet access for the lowest cost.” Moments after Lutnick issued his statement, Rep. Rich Hudson (R-N.C.), chairman of the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, said at a hearing that he was introducing the SPEED for BEAD bill, with key provisions duplicating much of Lutnick has in store, led by technology neutrality. (Continued after paywall.)