Senator Joni Ernst has told the US Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE) to shut down the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. DOGE was formed by Trump as part of his campaign plans to significantly slash federal spending and is not actually a federal executive department as it would require an act of Congress to create.
BEAD, which was set up by the Biden Administration, was created by Congress in November 2021 and has been implemented by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The federal grant program is funding programs to build Internet infrastructure in unserved locations across the US and its territories.
"President Biden’s so-called infrastructure program provided $7.5 billion to build a nationwide network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and $42 billion to expand broadband. Three years later, just 17 EV stations are completed and not a single person—not one—has been connected to the Internet yet. It’s time to pull the plug," said Ernst in the letter.
