WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today underscored the importance of having a strong leader at the helm of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) in order to effectively coordinate and implement $48.2 billion of the $65 billion investment Congress authorized for broadband infrastructure programs in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law.  Sen. Cantwell spoke in support of Alan Davidson’s confirmation as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information immediately before he was approved by the full Senate by a vote of 60-31.

 “Nothing could be more important now to upgrading the United States infrastructure than getting fiber deployed, getting broadband to American homes and making our grid more secure,” said Sen. Cantwell.  “We all know that this [broadband] implementation is going to take a very skilled hand at trying to address both the issues of affordability and access.  [W]e will be getting with Mr. Davidson, somebody who understands these issues well and will help us strive to get America better connected as quickly as possible.”

 “We can't say enough about how important that is, as COVID-19 continues across the United States of America…,” Sen. Cantwell added.  “I'm not saying it's going to be the new normal and continue for the next several years, but we know this, we need Mr. Davidson's help. We need his help effectively, and speedily to get broadband deployment to both sectors of our economy, those who are unserved and those who are underserved.”

 Senator Cantwell’s full remarks (CLICK HERE TO WATCH):

 “I rise to speak in support of our next vote, Alan Davidson. My colleagues know in an information age how important access to broadband is. They know because of COVID-19, how important it is for health care, how important it is for education, how important it is for people to have the flexibility in all parts of the United States to have access to the ability to connect and to connect with people around the world.

“We have long talked about the need for an NTIA administrator who understands the public sector and understands the private sector and Mr. Davidson does that. He comes to us with a wealth of experience in both sectors. And he comes at a time when my colleagues have been asking for more leadership from the Administration on broadband issues. That is to say many of my colleagues like Senator Wicker, Senator Klobuchar, and many others have asked for the coordination between various programs that exist within the Department of Commerce, the Department of Agriculture, and in the issues in coordination with the FCC and oversight of their programs to better maximize the delivery of broadband.

“The presiding officer knows how much money is now on the table for broadband. We all know that this implementation is going to take a very skilled hand at trying to address both the issues of affordability and access. But more importantly, we will be getting with Mr. Davidson, somebody who understands these issues well and will help us strive to get America better connected as quickly as possible.

“We can't say enough about how important that is, as COVID-19 continues across the United States of America with different variants. I'm not saying it's going to be the new normal and continue for the next several years, but we know this, we need Mr. Davidson's help. We need his help effectively, and speedily to get broadband deployment to both sectors of our economy, those who are unserved and those who are underserved.

“So we look forward to advancing this nominee, putting him to work as quickly as possible. And I personally look forward to working with him on these very important issues. There is much to do to leverage the dollars that we have made available. But we have to work cooperatively with all parts of the United States to make that a reality.

“Nothing could be more important now to upgrading the United States infrastructure than getting fiber deployed, getting broadband to American homes and making our grid more secure. All of these things I look forward to working with Mr. Davidson on and I appreciate his comments to me about his commitment to those issues as well. I thank the President, and I yield the floor.”

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