Luján Calls Out House Republican Bill for Selling Off Spectrum to Benefit Billionaires Instead of Connecting Americans
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Telecommunications and Media Subcommittee, released the following statement on the House Republican bill that proposes auctioning off critical spectrum to fund tax handouts for the wealthiest Americans and corporate special interests, rather than investing in expanding broadband access:
“Tucked into House Republicans’ massive giveaway for the wealthiest Americans is a plan to auction off 600 MHz of spectrum — bypassing the committee process, ignoring bipartisan concerns, and doing nothing to connect more Americans to affordable, reliable internet.
“There is strong bipartisan concern about handing over this spectrum. Yet House Republicans are moving ahead at President Trump’s directive, prioritizing billionaires over the urgent need to invest in broadband access.”
Senator Luján has built bipartisan support to use spectrum auction proceeds to expand broadband access. Last Congress, Senator Luján led a bipartisan amendment with Senators Daines, Welch, Vance, Rosen, and Wicker to use $9 billion of spectrum auction proceeds to fund critical communications infrastructure and affordability. The Senate Commerce Committee passed legislation to do the same. Democrats in the House and Senate worked to include this policy in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2025, authorizing $3.08 in spectrum auction proceed from the AWS-3 auction and fund the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, removing security vulnerabilities from critical infrastructure.
Radio spectrum (“spectrum”) is the continuum of frequencies used to provide wireless services, such as radio broadcasting, mobile communications, and satellite services. Since Congress first authorized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to auction spectrum in the 1990’s, the FCC has raised over $250 billion in revenue. As Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media, Senator Luján has jurisdiction over the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that conducts spectrum auction and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that is responsible for managing spectrum for federal agencies including the Department of Defense.
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