A bipartisan group of senators is pressing the Trump administration to make unused federal broadband funding available to states after the White House threatened to hold it back as part of its effort to prevent the regulation of artificial intelligence.
Fourteen senators, led by Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), asked the Commerce Department in a letter Tuesday to ensure that any funds unspent by states under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program are used to “close the digital divide.” Fischer heads the Senate Commerce Committee’s telecom panel.
The lawmakers argue Congress intended for the $42 billion to be used “first and foremost” for broadband access. The senators do not specifically reference the recent executive order that threatens to withhold funding from states with AI laws. But President Donald Trump’s move has clearly increased worries about the fate of the BEAD program.
