House Commerce Panel to Markup Six Telecom Bills
Bills include the PLAN for Broadband Act and SAT Streamlining Act
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2026 – The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee is set to mark up six tech and telecom bills Tuesday.
Those include two bills that would require a national strategy for closing the digital divide and put shot clocks on federal satellite licensing reviews.
The bills under consideration include: The PLAN for Broadband Act, the SAT Streamlining Act, the Data BRIDGE Act, the GUARD Act, the Foreign Robocall Elimination Act, and the AI for Secure Networks Act.
PLAN for Broadband Act
The PLAN for Broadband Act, led by Reps. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Scott Peters, D-Calif., would require the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to draw up a plan to close the digital divide.
That would have to include improving coordination across federal broadband grant programs and in the federal permitting process, plus reducing administrative burdens for state and local governments to participate in federal programs.
The bill was first introduced in 2022 after the Government Accountability Office found coordination of the more than 100 federal broadband programs to be lacking.
NTIA is managing the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, which is aimed at reaching as many unserved and underserved locations as possible. The agency approved every state and territory’s spending plan as of last week, and in its top official’s eyes, it was already on the way to closing the digital divide.
“BEAD’s core mission is to ensure universal broadband availability across our country,” NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth said in a statement last week.. “With all 56 Final Proposals now approved, we are achieving Congress’s vision of closing the digital divide once and for all.”
The Senate version of the bill cleared the Senate Commerce Committee in May
SAT Streamlining Act
The House version of the SAT Streamlining Act would put a one-year shot clock on the Federal Communications Commission’s review of new satellite license applications. It would also impose other shot clocks on licenses renewals and minor modification requests
It also included a deemed granted provision, meaning if the FCC missed a deadline the application would be automatically approved.
The same provision was removed from the Senate version in February, when the bill cleared the Senate Commerce Committee. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the committee’s top Democrat, was concerned about massive applications being approved via agency inaction.
The FCC also voted to overhaul its satellite licensing rules in July. The changes were also aimed at speeding up the process and created what the agency has called a “license assembly line,” a more standardized process instead of the bespoke reviews the agency has been doing.
The House SAT Streamlining Act was led by House Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, D-N.J.
Data BRIDGE Act
The Data BRIDGE Act would require the FCC to incorporate data on agricultural areas into its national broadband coverage map. It was led by Reps. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., and Robin Kelly, D-Ill.
The FCC is taking comment on streamlining its data collection for that map.
GUARD Act
The Guarding the U.S. against Adversarial Robotics Dominance (GUARD) Act would require “an appropriate national security agency” to determine whether humanoid or quadruped robots developed by the U.S.’s adversaries constituted a national security risk.
If the agency didn’t make a determination in one year, the FCC would have to ban the import of new models of those robots from companies headquartered in or affiliated with those adversarial nations, including China and Iran.
The bill was led by Reps. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Jennifer McClellan, D-Va.
Like with satellite licensing, the agency has already moving the direction lawmakers want. The FCC instituted a ban on new models of all foreign-made humanoid or quadruped robots above 4.4 pounds in July.
It was in response to an interagency report by federal law enforcement officials that said there was the potential for supply chain or cyber security risks if the U.S. didn’t onshore robotics.
The has also been expanding similar import bans on foreign drones and Wi-Fi routers.
Foreign Robocall Elimination Act
The Foreign Robocall Elimination Act would require the FCC, along with the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department, to convene with private sector experts and produce a report on how to combat robocalls.
The FCC has been cracking down on robocalls for years. Earlier this year the agency expanded know-your-customer requirements, and just last week effectively shut down nine providers for not responding to information requests from an existing industry group that tracks robocalls.
The bill was led by Reps. Addison McDowell, R-N.C., and Kelly Morrison, D-Minn.
AI for Secure Networks Act
The AI for Secure Networks Act would require the NTIA to conduct a study on how artificial intelligence and open radio access networks (open RAN) could be used to increase cybersecurity of telecom networks.
It was led by Reps. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and August Pfluger, R-Texas.
