Draft Bill Would Claw Back BEAD Non-Deployment Funds

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2025 – Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has reportedly drafted a bill that would claw back non-deployment funds under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. Based on tentative bidding results from nearly every state and territory, that would be more than $20 billion of the program’s $42.45 billion funding pool.

The draft bill, called the RECAPTURE Act, would divert to the Treasury for deficit reduction any funding not designated for a specific use in the final proposals submitted by state broadband offices. Under the program’s updated rules, those documents only designate money for broadband deployment projects.

The bill hasn’t been introduced in the Senate, and may be changed before that or not be introduced at all. Ernst’s office didn’t comment or confirm that the legislation was in the works.