164 State Lawmakers Urge Release of Billions in Obligated BEAD Funds
Withholding more than $20 billion in funds defies Congress’s mandate, lawmakers warn.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2025 – A bipartisan coalition of 164 state legislators from 28 states urged the Commerce Department on Tuesday to release billions of dollars in funding obligated to states under a federal infrastructure program.
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In a letter sent to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Arielle Roth, the state legislators stressed that so-called “non-deployment” funds obligated under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program were mandated by Congress in the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021.
The status of those dollars has been uncertain for months. After the Trump administration shifted BEAD guidance to prioritize lowest-cost deployment, officials began indicating that the unspent portion of state allocations might be treated as federal “savings” rather than funds states could reinvest in affordability, workforce, permitting, and other non-deployment needs.
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