WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and John Thune, R-S.D., ranking member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, today introduced the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Reauthorization and Reform Act. This bill would reform NTIA’s role by improving interagency coordination and addressing current telecommunications challenges, such as the workforce shortage, Internet governance, cybersecurity, and international telecommunications. 

“Congress has not reauthorized NTIA in decades, and the agency’s responsibilities have evolved significantly since then,” said Wicker. “Today’s NTIA plays an important role in broadband deployment, federal spectrum management, and cybersecurity, which were issues not prevalent or even in existence during the last reauthorization. The agency has recently received billions of dollars to reflect these changes, and this bill would ensure NTIA is better positioned to close the digital divide and address today’s telecommunications challenges.” 

“NTIA plays a major role in maintaining U.S. leadership in next-generation telecommunications services,” said Thune. “In order for Americans to reap the benefits of reliable broadband technology and 5G services, it is critical that NTIA has the necessary tools to get the job done. I’m proud to join Sen. Wicker in taking steps to reform NTIA.”

The NTIA Reauthorization and Reform Act would:

• Reauthorize NTIA for two years at $52,831,000;
• Promote the head of NTIA from Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to Under Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information;
• Clarify NTIA’s role coordinating executive branch views on matters before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC);
• Require NTIA to coordinate with other agencies, including the Department of Labor and Department of Education, to promote and share information about workforce-development programs tailored to the telecommunications industry, which will help address the telecommunications workforce shortage;
• Require NTIA and the FCC to update their memorandum of understanding on spectrum management (S. 1472, Improving Spectrum Coordination Act of 2021, sponsored by Wicker, Thune, and Blackburn); and
• Improve the process for selecting the United States head of delegation and ambassador to the quadrennial World Radiocommunication Conference of the International Telecommunication Union, a major international telecommunications conference where agreements are reached related to the global harmonization of spectrum.

Click here to read the bill.