Sens. Cruz and Welch Introduce Satellite Streamlining Act

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2026 – Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Peter Welch, D-Vermont, introduced the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act on Wednesday.

It would update the Federal Communications Commission's application process to “remove regulatory barriers.”

The bill would require the FCC to decide on satellite licenses within one year and cap foreign system operation at 15 years in line with domestic limits, in an effort to incentivize commercial satellite providers to base operations in the U.S., according to a release. 

The bill has already been endorsed by the Computer & Communications Industry Association, or CCIA, which stated in a release that the bill would “provide a critical step toward regulatory certainty and efficiency needed for American companies to compete globally.” 

Other companies like SpaceX, Amazon, and industry organizations such as the Commercial Space Federation, AST SpaceMobile and Aerospace Industries Association have also spoken in support of the bill. 

A bill of the same name was introduced in the house of representatives in 2022 and saw the endorsement of FCC commissioner Nathan Simington. The 2022 bill also aimed to streamline the permitting process for the commercial broadband satellite industry, but never saw a full vote in the House.

The FCC also recently approved an additional 7,500 Starlink Gen2 satellites at the start of January, bringing Starlink’s total to 15,000.