Rep. Houchin: We Need 'Smarter and Faster Rollout of the BEAD Program'
Author of Rural Broadband Protection Act vows to expedite BEAD, in keynote address at Speeding BEAD Summit.
Patricia Blume

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2025 – Drawing on her experiences in the Indiana State Senate for eight years, U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., called for more efficient deployment of rural broadband through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program in the luncheon keynote address Thursday.
Speaking at Broadband Breakfast’s Speeding BEAD Summit, Houchin recounted the role she played in leading Indiana’s own broadband grant program, a $350 million investment in technology-neutral infrastructure.
She also recounted the personal significance of rural broadband expansion: She called her own state senate legislative district, the 47th district in Indiana, the most underserved area in the state before she was elected to Congress in 2022.
Keynote by Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Indiana
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“We've wasted a lot of time and money on broadband projects that never deliver and we have to prevent that, which is why I authored that [Indiana state] bill, and I continue to push for smarter and faster rollout of the BEAD program,” she stated.
Frustration with 90 day timeline
While reaffirming her support for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program and the recent changes to the program under the Trump administration, Houchin cautioned that the changes could dampen momentum for the program in Indiana.
She said the state was successfully forging ahead with BEAD finalizations and had already secured 50 pre-qualified providers.
And she expressed particular worry about the 90-day timeline for state revisions.
“Indiana ran one of the most effective and tech-neutral application processes in the country,” Houchin said. “It should be a model for others to follow, not an afterthought in a one-size-fits-all federal approach, because all of our strakes are different, in topography, in access to cities.”
Concern about program duplication
Still, Houchin also stressed the importance of the BEAD program accurately targeting underserved areas, and was concerned about the existence of what she cited as 137 federal broadband grant programs straining resources that would otherwise be deployed for infrastructure developments.
In April, the House passed the Rural Broadband Protection Act, a measure she had introduced in the Energy and Commerce Committee in March, H.R. 2399. The reasure is designed to address broadband program duplication.
“I don't want [resources] to go to the areas that are already connected. I want to make sure that we're getting to everyone who fully deserves and needs the internet, but we have to make sure that the intent of being matches the promise, and so that means fewer delays, less red tape, more collaboration with you, the people in this room, who actually know what your communities’ needs,” she said.
Houchin also noted that to properly distribute resources there must be both accurate broadband mapping and prioritization.
“We have to streamline these processes and make them as lean as possible,” she said. She was particularly pleased with the NTIA’s removal of labor and environmental requirements in the June 6 restructuring policy notice.
“I think we just need to get the funding out as soon as possible with little delay,” she stated.
'Curing' caused delays in BEAD
She criticized the Biden administration’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration for delays caused by a back-and-forth “curing” process between the NTIA and the states under BEAD.
The cure for “curing” delays was greater transparency and more accurate reporting, Houchin said.
She concluded her remarks by vowing to continue her fight for better broadband.
“I'll keep doing everything I can in Washington to make sure that you have the resources, the flexibility, and the support you need to succeed, and hopefully together, we will be able to speed BEAD in a smart, efficient, and faster way,” she said.