WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, delivered the following prepared remarks at today’s “E-Rate 2.0: Connecting Every Child to the Transformative Power of Technology” full committee hearing:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing. And, thank you to our witnesses for being with us today.

Chairman Rockefeller, I would like to start by complimenting you and your success nearly 20 years ago to include language in the 1996 Act that laid the groundwork for E-rate. While we might disagree on some of the particulars on how to modernize the program today, your commitment and determination then and now to deliver the promise of technology to our nation’s schools and libraries is laudable.

The goal of the E-rate program is to connect America’s classrooms, and by and large today, they are connected. E-rate has played a role in this development, and I agree with champions of the program – like our new colleague Senator Markey – who note that the original goals of E-rate have largely been met. I also agree that the program needs to be reformed. E-rate is nearly two decades old, and like many of our communications laws, it could better reflect today's digital reality. Like you, I am pleased the FCC plans to move forward on Friday with a rulemaking to begin the modernization of E-rate. 

Online activity in schools will no doubt continue to increase, as it will throughout our society. But I hope E-rate will avoid prioritizing reaching debatable speed goals for some schools at the expense of necessary connectivity in others. As we consider ultra-fast broadband in American classrooms, we must not lose sight of those schools and students that still need more basic communications services. 

The President’s ConnectED Initiative includes the goal of connecting 99 percent of America’s primary and secondary students with high speed broadband and wireless within five years. We should keep in mind, however, that the unreached one percent in this case amounts to over half a million students – and that assumes the goal is met, so the real number could be much higher. As a senator from a very rural state with just 147,000 school children, the parents, teachers, and students I represent would like to know where they stand as a priority for this federal program moving ahead.

The fact is schools in remote areas are simply more expensive to reach with service than their counterparts in more populated areas, which are typically located much closer to network infrastructure. This has always been the underlying issue at hand with universal service, and I look forward to seeing how the FCC addresses this reality through E-rate reform.

I also want to draw particular attention to FCC Commissioner Pai’s speech, delivered yesterday, in which he outlined several reform ideas for the Commission to consider. I am intrigued by many of Commissioner Pai’s proposals, such as providing more simplicity, transparency, and accountability for the E-rate program and its beneficiaries. I am also pleased by his focus on local decision making and flexibility, allowing schools to meet their own needs, which may not always be what Washington assumes. 

Finally, I want to applaud his suggestion that reform be achieved within the current resources available to the Universal Service Fund. The president, in rolling out his ConnectED initiative, also directed the federal government to make better use of existing funds to get Internet connectivity and educational technology into classrooms. I agree with Commissioner Pai and the president, because it is very important for all government programs to stay within their means in this difficult fiscal and economic environment. 

Again, Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding today’s hearing. I look forward to working with you to continue our committee’s oversight of the FCC and its E-rate rulemaking. 

Thank you.

###