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Indianapolis Star
11 hours ago
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Energy lobby ramped up spending on lawmakers amid push for nuclear. It worked
The Indiana legislators ushering in a new era of nuclear power were showered with sports tickets and meals from the very utility companies that stood to benefit from the incentive-packed legislation, lobbying records show. IndyStar analyzed hundreds of lobbying disclosures from the most recent legislative session to map the influence of lobbyists on lawmakers. The documents revealed a dominant energy lobby that spent tens of thousands of dollars currying favor with legislators. Among those legislators were powerful utility committee chairmen Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, and Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, who led the charge on legislation to incentivize small modular reactors. While proponents argued that the legislation would help Indiana transition from coal to nuclear and serve a looming future of unprecedented energy demand, critics point to an unfortunate reality: no SMR has been successfully completed in the U.S. yet, and attempts to do so have suffered delays and cost overruns in the billions. One bill that became law, Senate Enrolled Act 424, allows utilities to recover costs from ratepayers before even beginning a project. Consumer advocates told IndyStar they believed the legislation would raise rates for Hoosiers already paying record-high bills. 'And we wonder why nobody can pay their utility bills,' Kerwin Olson, executive director for Citizens Action Coalition, said. 'Because we have a complicit legislature and a complicit regulatory commission that gives the utilities everything they want, including legislation like this that was just passed.' The Indiana Energy Association and Indiana Michigan Power each spent more than any other group on gifts and private meals with lawmakers, according to disclosures filed with the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission covering the period containing the most recent legislative session. That doesn't include spending for events in which every lawmaker was invited or receptions. Both groups supported SMR-related legislation in committee meetings this year, testifying in support of House Enrolled Act 1007, Senate Enrolled Act 424 and SEA 425. They also each shelled out more than $18,000 on gifts and entertainment between Nov. 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025. In one case, just days after Indiana Michigan Power announced plans to turn its retired Rockport coal plant into an SMR, the company bought a meal for Soliday and six other lawmakers on the House's utilities committee, according to lobbying disclosures. While lobbying can help strengthen relationships with legislators, outright quid pro quos are not allowed, experts told IndyStar. Lobbyists can also serve as subject matter experts for lawmakers, making them a helpful tool when crafting legislation. "We are in a complex and dynamic environment that is driving public policy to respond to the significant growth in electric demand," Danielle McGrath, president of the Indiana Energy Association, told IndyStar in a statement over email. "If you look at the legislation this past session, it centers on ensuring Indiana keeps pace with either additional resources or new technology, and it does so with regulatory oversight and consumer protections." Indiana Michigan Power did not respond to an interview request to elaborate on its position and why the organization increased spending. Koch, who authored the bill among other pro-SMR efforts, and his wife received around $1,600 in dinner and drinks from utilities, including Centerpoint Energy, I&M, IPALCO Enterprises — the parent company for AES Indiana — and Duke Energy. The boon represents nearly half of the money lobbyists spent on gifts and entertainment for Koch this cycle. Soliday and his wife received nearly $900 worth of meals from energy lobbyists, the vast majority of the value of the gifts and entertainment he received from lobbyists. Neither responded to multiple IndyStar requests for an interview through spokespeople. Koch and Soliday were not the sole legislators to be courted by utilities. More than half of the 41 legislators listed as sponsors for House Bill 1007, which provides tax credits to Hoosier manufacturers working on SMR projects, received gifts or entertainment directly from utilities or the Indiana Energy Association. The same day the House approved that bill, Duke Energy paid for a $67 meal for Soliday. Duke Energy wasn't just purchasing meals. The company devoted $250,000 to compensate lawyers — the 3rd largest amount of any Indiana employer — in addition to the utility's spend on entertainment. Aaron Dusso, a political science professor at Indiana University Indianapolis, said while lobbying certainly buys influence, the lobbyist-legislator relationship usually begins on the campaign trail. And that was true for Duke Energy, which became a top donor for Koch's campaign shortly after his appointment as Senate Utility Committee chairman in 2020. Between 2021 and 2023, Duke Energy and its political action committee gave a combined $15,000 to the powerful state senator, according to campaign finance records. All of Koch's constituents are in Duke Energy's service territory, where some have criticized recent rate hikes. Still, it can be difficult for voters to connect dots buried in obscure reports and highly technical bill language. 'Our power bills might go up, we might be upset about that, but how are we going to know who did what and why?' Dusso said. 'That's just very difficult for the average voter to really ascertain.' Duke Energy, which directed questions to the Indiana Energy Association, has been eyeing SMR technology since long before this most recent session. The debate over how to update Indiana's grid without burdening ratepayers reached a boiling point Aug. 6, when Portage Mayor Austin Bonta said Soliday had sent him a threatening text in response to the mayor's statement about rate increases, which many residents had complained to him about. "I promise I will work hard to make certain your city never gets any revenue increases!!!" Soliday told Bonta over text, according to a screenshot shared by the mayor through Facebook. One of Indiana's first forays into nuclear power began in 1977 with the Marble Hill plant in Madison, Indiana. Public Service Indiana, a utility company that later became Duke, began construction on the project in hopes of producing cheaper energy. Though the company initially estimated the project would cost $1.4 billion, the projected cost ballooned to $7.1 billion in 1983. Inundated with protests and newfound hesitancy following the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania, the company ceased construction a year later. To Olson, Marble Hill provides a glimpse at what SMRs could become without proper oversight, with ratepayers covering billions of dollars spent on abandoned projects. Olson also pointed to a more recent example of a failed nuclear project: an SMR endeavor in Idaho. Portland-based developer NuScale Power had expected to complete the project in a few years but announced its termination nearly a decade later in 2023. By then, the company had spent about $9 billion. The resurgence of nuclear, now packaged in a slightly different form, accompanies a projected surge in energy demand from data centers. An IndyStar investigation published in June found that the anticipated energy needs for just nine of these facilities account for more than half of Indiana utilities' electricity capacity in 2023. Those stark numbers, coupled with the closure of coal plants and stagnating renewables, had energy companies and lawmakers looking for an alternative. SMRs rose from the fray, boasting the ability to provide consistent power while also satisfying tech companies' carbon goals. Olson isn't convinced the deal is quite so sweet, though. 'It's all hyperbole,' Olson said. Recent studies have echoed these concerns, such as a 2024 analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis that found SMRs are still too expensive, risky and slow to build to help the transition from fossil fuels. Senate Enrolled Act 424 allows utilities to recover up to 80% of project development costs for SMRs a category that includes everything from design to licensing and permitting to equipment, before even beginning construction. With approval from the IURC, the utility can then periodically adjust rates to recover costs for the project so long as they don't adjust the rate schedule more than once a year. The utility can recover the costs even if the project is cancelled under certain conditions, such as if the cancellation was made 'prudently' and 'for good cause.' For McGrath, SEA 424 is important because its cost recovery mechanisms help offset the high capital costs of building SMRs, she said. Consumers are protected, too, she wrote, because it requires IURC oversight. Olson, however, doesn't trust that the law will safeguard consumers, pointing to the vagueness inherent in the law's language charging the commission with evaluating a project's reasonableness. House Enrolled Act 1007 has similar language to SEA 424 but also gives tax credits to SMR manufacturers in Indiana and asks large load customers to reimburse 80% of the costs required to add them to the grid, which McGrath pointed to as an example of consumer protections baked into the slate of bills. Other laws passed by lawmakers this year related to SMRs are SEA 423, which works to incentivize developers to partner with Indiana utilities on SMR technology, and SEA 425, which helps speed up rezoning efforts for energy generation resources by reducing local government timelines on converting retired energy production zones to new generation facilities.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill to boost energy generation — and nuclear manufacturing — advances to Indiana governor
A House Republican bill that seeks to increase energy generation in Indiana is now headed to Gov. Mike Braun for final approval. (Getty Images) House Republicans gave the final go-ahead Tuesday to a caucus priority bill that seeks to incentivize new power generation in Indiana. A 63-23 party-line vote on House Bill 1007 set the measure on course for Gov. Mike Braun's desk. The bill will expedite approval processes for large-load customers like data centers and create cost recovery mechanisms for projects utilities take on to serve those big customers. It will also require a big prospective grid addition to make 'significant and meaningful financial assurances' for such projects — reimbursing at least 80% of costs and protecting other existing and future customers from the expenses. The bill, authored by Rep. Ed Soliday, Valparaiso, additionally gets tough with utilities planning to close — or convert to natural gas — any coal-fired plants of at least 125 megawatts. Current law mandates utilities that are not generating at least 85% of peak demand to report three-year projections to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC). House, Senate push along bills to attract nuclear developments to Indiana Utilities will instead be required to annually report the amount of resource generating capacity they plan to take offline. If, after an investigation, the IURC doesn't think a utility can provide reliable service, it would have to block the utility's plan or order it to either acquire or build capacity. 'We're in competition with other states,' Soliday said. 'We will not be the biggest incentive-offering state. (The bill) will put us in second. We won't get a dime if they don't come here, but if we are able to incentivize them to come here, we get 80% of something, not 100% of nothing.' After strong pushback, senators removed more contentious provisions that intended to specifically boost small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) development — including a 20% sales tax credit for utilities. That tax credit remains in the bill, however, for Hoosier manufacturers that produce SMR technology which could later be used by utilities in Indiana or elsewhere across the globe. Democratic Rep. Matt Pierce, of Bloomington, said Tuesday he has concerns about the remaining tax credit, which could cost taxpayers an estimated $280 million, according to a legislative fiscal analysis. He worried, too, that the overall bill will 'force more expensive, obsolete coal plants to remain online for a longer period of time' — given that SMR development has largely been proposed on existing coal plant sites. 'Imagine what we could do with $280 million when it comes to providing people with health care, childcare, other essential services that people may rely upon the state,' Pierce said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House, Senate push along bills to attract nuclear developments to Indiana
Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, addresses the House chamber on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Multiple Republican energy bills dealing with incentives for nuclear power inched closer to the governor's desk Tuesday following key votes in both the House and Senate. That included House Bill 1007, a priority measure that would expedite approval processes for large-load customers like data centers and create cost recovery mechanisms for projects utilities take on to serve those big customers. It also would require a big prospective grid addition to make 'significant and meaningful financial assurances' for such projects — reimbursing at least 80% of costs and protecting other existing and future customers from the expenses. The bill additionally gets tough with utilities planning to close — or convert to natural gas — any coal-fired plants of at least 125 megawatts. Current law mandates utilities that are not generating at least 85% of peak demand to report three-year projections to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC). The legislation would instead require all utilities to annually report the amount of resource generating capacity they plan to take offline. If, after an investigation, the IURC doesn't think a utility can provide reliable service, it would have to block the utility's plan or order it to either acquire or build capacity. 'This bill is about three things: high-wage advanced manufacturing jobs, protecting consumers from rate shifts from large-scale loads, and protecting consumers from rate increases through premature plant closures,' said bill sponsor Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford. 'Those are three worthy goals.' The bill advanced from the Senate in a 36-13 vote, with some bipartisan opposition. All but one Democrat — Sen. David Niezgodski, a co-sponsor — voted against the proposal, along with four Republicans: Sens. Ron Alting, Vaneta Becker, Aaron Freeman and Mike Young. After strong pushback, senators removed more contentious provisions that intended to boost small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) development — including a 20% sales tax credit for SMR manufacturers. But Democratic Sen. J.D. Ford, of Indianapolis, said he still had 'serious concerns' about pieces left in the bill that could boost 'a risky, unproven technology,' referring to SMRs. 'My constituents … they don't support this,' he said. 'They don't want to be the test case for nuclear experiments that have failed in other states.' House Bill 1007 missed the opportunity to put important consumer protections in place. – Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, expressed additional concerns 'about the message being sent to ratepayers and the entire state.' 'House Bill 1007 missed the opportunity to put important consumer protections in place,' she said. 'We know that our utilities already operate as state-sanctioned monopolies, and we have to make sure that we are empowering the IURC, but also empowering ourselves and our ratepayers, to truly, truly get a handle on the increasing rates, and make sure that we're not politicizing that in any way.' Shortly after the Senate voted to return the bill to the House for final approval, Robyn Skuya-Boss, director for the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club, reiterated the advocacy group's concerns over what she called an 'Energy Inflation Act.' She emphasized that legislative action came just days after Gov. Mike Braun signed coal-related executive orders similar to those endorsed by President Donald Trump. 'Hoosiers should be alarmed that we're witnessing a massive transfer of wealth from hard-working families to financially healthy utilities and tech companies in the form of higher utility bills along with increased air and water pollution,' Skuya-Boss said in a statement. 'Renewable energy adds a tremendous amount of value to the grid, and it's disheartening that lawmakers, utilities, and tech companies are actively standing in the way of progress for Indiana's economy and our environment.' Across the hall, lawmakers in the House made progress on two other bills, overcoming hesitation from some members of the supermajority. The first, Senate Bill 423, forms a small modular nuclear reactor 'pilot' program intended to attract interested developers to bring nuclear to Indiana. Bill sponsor Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valpraiso, made clear though that the legislation blocks program participants from charging ratepayers for no-cost contributions by third parties. Opposition brings likely end to Indiana utility siting bill, but the issue isn't going away 'Already, partnerships are being formed. …. What this bill does is place restrictions on those partnerships that currently do not exist,' he said. 'It's important that we have some control over these partnerships.' Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, said he while 'appreciate(d)' the bill's intent to require tech companies to 'pick up some of these costs for SMRs, it still has a fatal flaw.' 'At the end of the day, if the project doesn't pan out, which I think is maybe more likely than not … the ratepayers are going to be on the hook for some of those costs, which is going to be substantial,' Pierce said. The bill ultimately passed in a mixed 67-29 vote, sending it back to the Senate chamber. Also returning to the opposing chamber one last time — in a similarly divided 59-38 tally — is Senate Bill 425, which addresses transitions of coal-fired plants to natural gas or SMR sites. Soliday said the bill seeks to ensure that locals don't drag out rezoning processes needed for those transitions to move forward. Provisions in the legislation set timelines for both utilities and local zoning authorities to prevent yearslong 'back and forth delays' that defer decisions. 'In some counties, not all, instead of making a decision, they keep deferring,' Soliday said, pointing to moratoriums, for example, that 'keep investors' money tied up, and they can't move forward with a project.' The bill limits such moratoriums to just one year, then local governments 'have to decide.' CONTACT US 'A 'no' is OK,' Soliday continued, 'but do it in a timely way so the developers can move on.' Pierce had reservations about this measure, too. 'What this bill is basically saying is if someone comes into your community and they want to put a small modular reactor into a generation facility that exists, your local communities have nothing they can say about that,' he said. 'I think it's a mistake what we're doing,' Pierce added. 'We're essentially saying that we value efficiency and speed more than we value public input, because under the current system, you kind of have this back and forth with advisory planning commissions … and that does take some time, but it gives people who are interested in that zoning issue an opportunity to be involved.' Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer, maintained that the bill still allows 'an opportunity to go back and forth with the planning commission.' 'The ultimate decision-makers are the county commissioners, the legislative body,' Culp held. 'What a lot of these communities are doing is they're using this as a stall tactic. … We're trying to tighten up this loophole a little bit. Local units will still have a whole year to make a decision, and they can still say no, but they can't delay decisions. … because this drives down development, currently.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Last time we hear of this': Panel strikes utility pole compromise to boost Indiana broadband access
The Indiana Energy Association's Matt Long (right) reviews materials while Rep. Ed Soliday (center) introduces his amendment to a utility pole attachment measure on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Suit-clad lobbyists on Tuesday offered careful praise for a compromise intended to resolve a long-running fight over the utility pole attachment required to bring high-speed internet to rural Hoosiers and others. Disagreements between electricity and telecommunications providers could muddle more than a billion dollars of government broadband incentives. 'For years, … the most difficult barrier to rural broadband deployment in Indiana has been the math,' said Joni Hart, of Comcast Indiana. It's often prohibitively expensive to install broadband infrastructure for few customers situated far apart. But Indiana has poured money into access improvements in recent years — and was allocated a whopping $870 million through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program to make more progress. 'Number-one obstructionist': Electricity co-ops lambasted for slow broadband rollout Now that the money is taken care of, new obstacles have emerged. 'With this funding committed, our industry and policy makers have more at stake in tackling deployment barriers like permitting and pole attachment issues in order to make sure we get this infrastructure deployed,' Hart added. She said those snags have forced Comcast Indiana to request several extensions from the Indiana Broadband Office for various broadband access projects. An amendment accepted by consent Tuesday represents 'a constructive step forward,' said Daniel Miller, president of Indiana's Broadband and Technology Association. The package of changes 'reflects a thoughtful effort to balance competing interests while addressing the practical realities of broadband deployment,' Miller continued. 'It offers a workable framework that promotes continued investment, innovation and expansion, especially in the areas (of Indiana) that need it most.' The Indiana Energy Association, which represents the state's 'big five' electric utilities and several natural gas utilities, also said the amended legislation 'strikes a balance.' The edits recast proposed alterations weighed last week, when Indiana's electric cooperatives were dealt a public tongue-lashing over delays in broadband delivery. 'Good Lord willing, this will be the last time we hear of this issue from now until the Second Coming,' said House Utilities Committee leader Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso. After Soliday's overhaul, Senate Bill 502 would give telecommunications providers — the attaching entities — and electric utilities that own 300-plus utility poles a 60-day deadline to meet after a government broadband grant contract is executed. And they'd have four months to reach a project management agreement after the National Telecommunications Information Administration approves the office's BEAD proposal. The legislation now sets detailed deadlines for cooperation if they can't concur. It would also allow the office to set a 'rapid response mediation process' when disputes arise — pulling back from hefty fines considered last week. The office would additionally have to publish broadband grant contracts online shortly after they're executed. Indiana Chief Broadband Office Stephen Cox said his office is working on the first round of the complex application process and has wrapped up a series of listening sessions. 'Pole attachments are necessary, in most projects, to bring them to completion,' Cox told the committee. 'Our office sees this bill as providing a tool to help expedite pole attachment requests … to facilitate project completion.' Comcast Indiana's Hart thanked the committee for cutting the timeline for preparatory work, but said that remained the company's 'primary concern.' 'We realize this isn't Burger King, and we can't always 'have it our way,'' she quipped, 'but hopefully that is something that we can work on in the future.' Soliday, however, said such changes 'won't be in the room,' under his leadership. 'We have worked really hard on this (amendment); it was painful,' he said. 'And so, I think we're in a good place where everyone is equally unhappy. So, spread the joy.' Senate Bill 502 heads to the House floor after the committee's unanimous, 15-0 vote. So does an edited small modular nuclear reactor 'pilot' program, on a party-line vote. The committee lifted a two-project cap within Senate Bill 423 so that any interested developers could participate and bring nuclear to Indiana. The legislation would now block program participants from charging ratepayers for no-cost contributions by third parties. 'We're sort of de-piloting it, but I can change the U.S. Constitution easier than I can change the title of this bill,' Soliday said at least week's hearing. '… We are taking it out of the pilot realm.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Number-one obstructionist': Electricity co-ops lambasted for slow broadband rollout
Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, leads an energy committee on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) More than a billion dollars worth of government incentives to boost rural Hoosier broadband access could get tangled in the utility pole attachment fight between Indiana's electricity providers and telecommunications companies — prompting a major potential amendment and several hostile exchanges at a Tuesday committee hearing. 'For three years of my life, I have been trying to get the utilities and the telecoms to agree,' the committee's frustrated leader, Rep. Ed Soliday, began. '… And so, we now are here.' 'The loser in all of this is the rural person who needs broadband,' he said. '… I'm going to give out phone numbers of who to call when they come to me and say their children are going to McDonald's to do their homework.' Senate Bill 502 is lawmakers' attempt to mediate. Communities struggle to get connected, despite billions in broadband investment For now, it would require telecommunications companies to 'prove to you that there is a problem,' AT&T Indiana President Bill Soards told a corresponding Senate committee in February. His and other companies would submit information on their attachment requests to the Indiana Broadband Office quarterly until July 2030. But a detailed amendment from Soliday, R-Valparaiso, would strike the reporting requirements and instead set deadlines to push both provider types toward collaboration — or face the consequences. If a pole owner's noncompliance causes a telecommunications company to lose government funding for a broadband project, the owner could owe the company $25,000. The committee didn't take a decision on the edits Tuesday. It will consider the legislation again next week. 'Some of you are concerned about the amendment. Let me say this: it can get a lot worse,' Soliday warned. He later threatened to raise it to $250,000. 'We need to solve the problem. All the creative solutions to get around (or) away from this — I will devote my entire life to getting this done.' Over the last four years, Indiana has poured $350 million into rural access to modern high-speed internet, according to bill author Sen. Andy Zay, R-Huntington. The state was also allocated nearly $870 million in 2023, as part of a $43 billion federal 'internet for all' initiative; an estimated 150,000 Hoosier addresses are eligible, per Indiana Chief Broadband Office Steve Cox. The office is still working on a spending proposal. Broadband providers contend that pole owners — like electric utilities — are hindering progress. In February's Senate committee hearing, Spectrum parent Charter Communications reported that its successful pole attachment applications averaged a nearly 400-day wait for approval. But thousands of pending applications have languished for about 500 days, on average. Electric utilities cite incomplete and inaccurate telecommunications applications as primary causes of delay. They maintain that illegal or improperly done attachments risk damaging the state's electric infrastructure — dubbed the 'backbone for the broadband rollout,' by Michael Charbonneau, government relations head for the Indiana Electric Cooperatives. 'We have worked in good faith with other stakeholders,' Charbonneau told the committee, 'to develop a framework for processing pole attachments related to broadband grant funding.' His organization opposed the amendment, citing 'significant' financial penalties, to the chagrin of lawmakers disappointed by slow progress. 'We've got the money to do it. So it just baffles me that, in that whole time frame, industry has not come together and figured out how to do this,' said Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie. Soliday was more aggressive. 'You know what I think, Mr. Charbonneau? You don't want a solution!' he asserted. 'You're in the business of broadband, aren't you? Aren't you? … You are competing with the broadband companies. Are you, or are you not?' Charbonneau said 27 of his organization's 38 members have some involvement, generally starting a decade ago, 'because someone had to deliver broadband to rural Indiana.' He pushed back on the allegations, saying, 'We want rural Indiana to succeed, and it needs broadband and electricity to do so.' Charbonneau stood before the committee for more than thirty minutes. Questions about the amendment, attachment requests, contracts and delays repeatedly lapsed into heated exchanges — prompting audible gasps from some audience members. As lawmakers neared caucus time, Soliday said they'd continue discussions next week 'because, what I heard you say in your testimony today is that, by Oct. 1, it is impossible for the REMCs (rural electric membership cooperatives) to agree to any type of timeline or performance standards with the telecoms. …' 'No, it is not —' Charbonneau began. 'Then, you can. It's a binary question. Yes or no?' Soliday pressed. After several more exchanges, Charbonneau said he was concerned less about the deadline and more that all parties were working 'in good faith.' He sought a solution without fines. CONTACT US 'What you'd really like is no accountability, and we can continue with this … indefinitely. That's what I'm hearing you say,' Soliday said, as Charbonneau reiterated his aversion to the penalties. 'Three. Years. And we wind up with storytelling every time. We need a solution. So if your answer is (that) it can't be done, you shouldn't even be here,' Soliday added. 'Mr. Chairman, I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm here to say we oppose this amendment,' Charbonneau replied. The back-and-forth continued until Soliday dubbed the REMCs the 'number-one obstructionist.' 'Wow,' Charbonneau said. 'And that is a fact that I can document. And here we go again,' Soliday concluded. 'So, (I'll) be happy to see you all next Tuesday. Do you have a different amendment? How many hours have we met? All I get is mush. Thank you for your testimony. … With that, we are adjourned.' Indiana's broadband problems may go beyond state lines, however. The federal broadband effort is falling behind schedule, Stateline has reported. And, under President Donald Trump's administration, it faces an overhaul that could push lucrative contracts toward Elon Musk — the world's richest man and a top Trump adviser — according to the National Public Radio. One of the furthest-along states, West Virginia, is reworking its proposal to better align with the administration's desires, per Broadband Breakfast. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
