Latest news with #InfrastructureInvestmentandJobsActof2021
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration wants to cut FMCSA workforce by 7%
WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's detailed budget request for fiscal year 2026 reveals plans to reduce the agency's workforce by approximately 7% while the agency requests a slight increase in funding. Published this week by the U.S. Department of Transportation to help appropriators in Congress establish next year's funding bills, the request cuts FMCSA's overall workforce by 89 'full-time equivalent' positions – a measure that accounts for part-time positions – while seeking a funding increase of roughly 2%, to $927 million, over last year's enacted budget of $909 million. Adding another $135 million in advance appropriations from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, FMCSA's budget estimate for FY26 increases to over $1 billion. 'This budget provides the necessary resources for FMCSA's dedicated workforce to uphold our safety mandate effectively and efficiently, focusing on core responsibilities, modernizing critical systems, and applying common sense principles to regulatory oversight,' according to the budget's overview. Most of the workforce cuts are slated to occur at FMCSA's headquarters in Washington. Remaining unchanged, according to the proposal, are the 852 positions within FMCSA's Office of Safety, which accounts for over 75% of the agency's 1,118 full-time-equivalent workforce. The Office of Safety manages all FMCSA field staff and is responsible for carrying out safety programs aimed at preventing crashes, fatalities and injuries involving commercial truck drivers. The budget request also gives a breakdown of FMCSA plans and priorities for the upcoming year, with many of those important to truck drivers being overseen by the agency's Office of Research and Registration. Among them, as outlined by FMCSA: Fraud prevention: Refining the identity proofing and business verification services, ensuring they are well integrated with the new FMCSA Registration System. FMCSA Customer Contact Center: Continue expansion under the direction of the FMCSA Customer Service Division to provide one-stop and one-phone-number customer support to the trucking industry. The division will continue to provide an increasing level of customer service and support to the more than 30,000 weekly customer engagements. Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility Rule: Continue to develop the policies and procedures to oversee the implementation of the Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility Rule – to be overseen by the Broker Transparency Rule – that takes effect in calendar year 2025 and 2026. Modernized registration system: The Registration Division will oversee the deployment and sustainment of the new modernized federal registration system, called Motus, in calendar year 2025 and beyond. The division will also be developing the policies and procedures for the new registration fraud team. Vetting expansion: The Vetting Division will experience a significant increase in workload upon the deployment of the new registration system. The new system will screen all applications for reincarnation behavior (attempting to avoid sanctions by obtaining a new DOT number under a different company name), flagging more applications for vetting than today. The division will continue the expansion of the vetting operations to ensure every application type is properly vetted and applicants are fit, willing and able to comply with FMCSA policies and regulations. Crash data analytics: Expand the collection of crash data elements reported by states and merge this collection with other data sources to identify the factors involved in large truck crashes. The division will analyze crash data by carrier type, size, commodity and age of new-entrant drivers to develop varying intervention strategies. Feds taking another look at truck-broker contract rules DOT's deregulation barrage raises compliance concerns for trucking VIDEO: Drivers voice frustrations with FMCSA enforcement CPAC wants Trump to overhaul FMCSA's waiver regime Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher. The post Trump administration wants to cut FMCSA workforce by 7% appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Illinois to lose $23.7M in broadband funding after Trump cuts ‘woke' federal program
CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois stands to lose more than $23.7 million in federal funding after the Trump administration cut an Internet expansion program the president described as a 'woke' giveaway based on race. The Digital Equity Act, enabled by the Biden administration's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, was a $2.75 billion program that promised funding for digital skills training, broadband expansion, device access, and workforce readiness. 'I have spoken with my wonderful Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and we agree that the Biden/Harris so-called 'Digital Equity Act' is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'No more woke handouts based on race! The Digital Equity Program is a RACIST and ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR giveaway. I am ending this IMMEDIATELY, and saving Taxpayers BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!' Illinois was set to receive $23.7 million from the program. 'The internet is a key to our economy. In Illinois, we need to make sure our many rural areas have the tools they need to access the internet and the doorways it opens for jobs, education, and telemedicine,' said Gov. JB Pritzker. 'Instead of enabling more people to participate in our economy, Donald Trump is turning his back on rural America, veterans, seniors, and other communities who deserve the opportunity to use the internet to access basic services and help grow our economy.' According to the Governor's Office, the funding was targeted at 10 million Illinoisians who have 'historically experienced lower rates of computer and internet access.' Over 260 Illinois groups applied for funding after the grant's announcement. The state provided handouts of more than 1,400 computers, held 4,300 digital skills training classes, and held 900 community outreach events. 'Because of the Trump Administration's spiteful crusade to gut critical government programs, Illinoisans will lose the internet access that allows them to speak with their doctor, complete homework assignments, or pay their bills. The President seems to forget that there are real people who are harmed by his reckless declarations, and the termination of the Digital Equity Capacity Grant is just the latest example,' said U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL). According to the Governor's Office, an Illinois-wide internet use phone survey revealed at least 1.3 million residents across approximately 540,000 households have low digital literacy skills, meaning they do not feel confident using the internet to complete at least one of the basic tasks included in the survey, such as creating a resume. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A lagging broadband program faces more delays as Trump plans changes
Workers install fiber optic cables for a school in Harrisburg, Pa. The Trump administration is extending the deadline for states to submit their final proposals for a federal broadband program that's still largely in the planning phase after more than three years. () The Trump administration is extending the deadline for states to submit their final proposals for a federal broadband program, further delaying an effort that's still largely in the planning phase after more than three years. States will have an additional 90 days to submit their final plans for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, known as BEAD, a federal grant program meant to expand broadband access to underserved areas across the country. The extension comes as the Trump administration prepares to make changes to the BEAD program, according to a notice from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The department is currently reviewing the program 'to remove unnecessary rules and mandates, to improve efficiency, take a more technology-neutral approach, cut unnecessary red tape, and streamline deployment,' the notice said. The $42.45 billion program, created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, began falling behind schedule in part because of inadequate federal mapping of where broadband is most needed and a lengthy challenge process to the maps. As a result, the slow-moving program has some local officials and experts questioning its efficiency. Already-lagging broadband program faces more uncertainty under Trump They anticipate that federal officials might change an affordability requirement, which mandates states include a low-cost service option for low-income households, or the type of technologies given preference under the program. That shift likely would be away from fiber-optic internet toward satellites or other technology. Earlier this month, more than 100 state lawmakers from 28 states sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting that any changes to the BEAD program be optional rather than mandatory. They argued that mandatory changes could undo their BEAD plans and delay broadband deployment by a year or more. The BEAD program originally had required states to submit their final proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration within a year of their initial plan's approval. Citing 'extraordinary circumstances,' however — the new federal review — deadlines for states' final proposals will be moved, according to the notice. NTIA declined to comment for this story. All 50 states have had their initial BEAD proposals approved, unlocking a portion — often 20% — of the money the feds will provide. As of April 14, Delaware, Louisiana and Nevada are the only states to have submitted their final proposals for public comment, according to the NTIA's BEAD Progress Dashboard. Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina and Texas are the only states that have not made any progress beyond having their initial proposal approved, according to the tracker. Stateline reporter Madyson Fitzgerald can be reached at mfitzgerald@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Top Broadband Director Warns of Musk Handout in Scathing Email Exit
The director of the largest federal broadband program in US history bid farewell to his colleagues in a spirited email Sunday morning. Among other things, he warns that millions of rural Americans could get stuck with slow internet speeds if rules are changed to favor Elon Musk's satellite internet company, Starlink. Until Mar. 16, Evan Feinman was the director of the BEAD program, a $42.5 billion fund passed as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. In the email, first reported by ProPublica's Craig Silverman in a Bluesky post, Feinman sounds the alarm on proposed changes to BEAD. 'The new administration seems to want to make changes that ignore the clear direction laid out by Congress, reduce the number of American homes and businesses that get fiber connections, and increase the number that get satellite connections,' Feinman wrote. By satellite, he means Starlink. Amazon's Project Kuiper is also technically eligible for BEAD funding, but it currently only has two prototype satellites in the sky, compared to over 7,000 for Starlink. (Geostationary satellite internet providers like Hughesnet and Viasat are not eligible for BEAD funding because they don't meet its latency requirements.) BEAD's money is distributed to each state by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which falls under the Department of Commerce. Under Biden's administration, the NTIA clearly favored deploying fiber to rural areas, which is widely considered the gold standard internet connection type. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick plans to take a more 'technology-neutral' approach to BEAD, according to a report published by the Wall Street Journal. That would benefit Starlink to the tune of $10 to $20 billion -- up from the $4.1 billion it was expected to get under the old rules. 'Some of the scary scenarios that I've been hearing from people close to NTIA and close to the Commerce Department would give 50% of the money or more to Elon Musk,' Gigi Sohn, the executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband, told CNET. 'Lutnick apparently believes, like Trump and like Musk, that paying for fiber instead of satellite is wasted money,' Blair Levin, a former FCC chief of staff and telecom industry analyst at New Street Research, told CNET. Fiber is expensive in many areas. A spokesperson for the Texas Comptroller told me in a previous interview that some rural households in West Texas would cost as much as $130,000 each to connect to fiber. How much BEAD money Starlink will be able to get could depend on where the NTIA sets that threshold. A source told me that the SPEED for BEAD Act -- a bill introduced in the House earlier in March -- originally included a cost threshold of $25,000 per location for fiber, but was later removed. If an area exceeded that number, the state's broadband office would be able to turn to 'alternative technologies' like Starlink. 'This is what [Feinman's] concerned about,' said Sohn, who worries the NTIA could set a price-per-location that heavily favors satellite. 'If we want to come back in five years and say, 'Oh gee, we still have a huge rural digital divide in this country,' then that's what we'll do.' Feinman's email argues that this shift from fiber to satellite would be a 'disservice to rural and small-town America.' This comes down to two issues with Starlink's service: speed and price. It hasn't proven it can meet BEAD's speed requirements, and at $120 per month in most areas, it's also far more expensive than most internet providers. Neither Starlink or Commerce Department spokespeople immediately responded to CNET's request for comment. Critics argue that Starlink's speeds don't meet BEAD's speed requirements: 100Mbps download speed, 20Mbps upload and latency under 100ms. The only one of those that Starlink is currently meeting is latency, and it's still significantly worse than the median in the US. 'This is a once-in-a-lifetime investment in broadband and to give it to expensive, slow service that's not scalable, that's not future-proof -- it's just throwing money down the toilet,' Sohn said. Ookla data shows that Starlink's speeds have actually dropped as more people have joined the network. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) Starlink has launched thousands of satellites since it debuted in 2019, but it's also added millions of additional users. Speeds have dropped even as Starlink sent thousands more satellites into the sky, and it's currently unavailable to customers in many US cities. 'I'm not sure Lutnick is aware of this,' Levin said. 'Starlink has a waiting list. They have a waiting list because they've run out of capacity.' Starlink has said publicly its new satellites will solve the capacity issues, but it hasn't proven it can do it yet -- especially if millions of additional homes connect through BEAD. 'As a future technology, it just doesn't cut the mustard,' Sohn said. A rule of thumb I've heard a lot in the internet world is called Nielsen's law, which states that a high-end internet user's connection speed grows by roughly 50% each year, doubling every 21 months. This has been true every year since 1983, and it's exactly what Feinman is worried about. Starlink may be good enough today -- and it hasn't proven it is by the FCC's own definition -- but it may not be able to handle applications of the future. A lot is in flux right now for BEAD. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is expected to announce rules overhauling the program any day now, which helps explain some of the urgency in Feinman's email. 'Reach out to your congressional delegation and reach out to the Trump Administration and tell them to strip out the needless requirements, but not to strip away from states the flexibility to get the best connections for their people,' Feinman wrote to his colleagues. If you'd like to reach out to your elected representatives about changes to the BEAD program, you can download the 5 Calls app in the App Store or Google Play store. The app researches and writes scripts for various issues, identifies the relevant decision-makers and collects phone numbers for their offices.
Gulf Today
09-03-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Broadband programme faces uncertainty under Trump
A massive federal programme meant to expand broadband access to underserved areas across the country is falling behind schedule, state broadband officials and experts say, even as Trump administration actions create further uncertainty about its funding and rules. Now in its third year, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, known as BEAD, is largely still in the planning phase. In Alpine County, California, the vice chair of the county Board of Supervisors, David Griffith, said he is still waiting to see how BEAD funds will help his area. Out of the county's roughly 1,100 residents, most rely on phone lines to connect to the internet and can't afford high-speed connections. That means instead of renewing their driver's licenses online, for example, many of the county's residents drive 30 miles to the closest department of motor vehicles location, he said. They lack internet speed for telemedicine, banking and tax filing. 'We all want government to work,' Griffith said, 'and unfortunately, the BEAD programme is an example where the need is there and the funding is there, but it's just a very inefficient process.' Congress awarded California $1.8 billion to ensure households get access to high-speed internet as part of the $42.45 billion BEAD programme, created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. All 50 states have had their initial proposals approved, unlocking a portion — often 20% — of the money the feds will provide. Delaware, Louisiana and Nevada are the only states to have submitted their final proposals. Some local officials and experts are questioning the efficiency of the programme. Progress is slow in part, they say, because of inadequate federal mapping of where broadband is most needed and a lengthy challenge process to the maps. And some experts worry that states are favoring overly expensive infrastructure. Federal and state broadband officials are also waiting to see how President Donald Trump's funding freeze may affect the BEAD programme, as well as how federal officials might change an affordability requirement or the type of technologies given preference under the programme. At his confirmation hearing, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who took office Feb. 19, said he supported the goals of BEAD but wanted to make sure it was done 'efficiently and effectively' and sidestepped questions asking him to commit to sending money out to states. Griffith said he's hopeful the money will still flow, noting that most of BEAD's funds will go to rural areas, many of which tend to elect and support Republicans. Louisiana was the first state to have both its initial and final BEAD proposals approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The state plans to deploy more than $1.35 billion in funding through its GUMBO 2.0 programme. States grant the federal money to internet service providers, local governments, nonprofits and other groups to build out the infrastructure. Shortly after the state's plans were approved in January, Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry sent a letter to the Commerce Department asking for changes within NTIA and the BEAD programme, including a request to streamline the agency's requirements and a commitment to more timely and transparent funding reviews. NTIA declined to answer Stateline's questions about the BEAD programme. Officials in some states have run into snags with challenges to the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Map. Through the map challenge process, local governments, internet service providers, nonprofits and other groups can help determine whether a particular location actually has internet service. Griffith, the California county supervisor, said the map was originally 'full of errors' in his area. 'We went through it in Alpine County, and about 7-8% of residences and businesses were left off of the National Broadband Map,' he said. 'Unless you're on the National Broadband Map, that money cannot be used to connect your home or business.' The BEAD programme also has an affordability requirement that mandates state broadband officials include a low-cost service option for low-income households. But industry groups have pushed back, calling the rule 'completely unmoored from the economic realities of deploying and operating networks in the highest cost, hardest-to-reach areas.' The BEAD programme has 'moved a little slower than it should have,' said Sachin Gupta, the vice president of business and technologies strategies at Centranet, part of the Central Rural Electric Cooperative in Oklahoma. The group serves households living just outside of Oklahoma City. 'There are people who cannot do remote work, or distance learning, or be part of the digital economy or do telehealth and telemedicine,' he said. 'So, there's real-world consequences.' In August, the feds approved Oklahoma's initial BEAD proposal, allowing the state to request access to over $797 million. The goal is to get households connected to the internet as quickly as possible, but there are going to be some challenges, such as mapping, Gupta said. 'This work has gone on for some time,' Gupta said, 'but if you pull this money back, people are just going to be even more distressed than they were before.' Experts at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a science and technology policy think tank based in Washington, D.C., have argued that the BEAD programme favors overly expensive broadband infrastructure. Fiber-optic internet, which BEAD gives preference to, is considered faster and more reliable than other methods of connection, but other technologies, such as satellites, could be more cost-effective, according to the group. The money saved from using less costly infrastructure could be put toward affordability efforts instead. 'That may be the best kept secret: The reason people aren't online anymore is not about broadband being unavailable,' said Joe Kane, the director of broadband and spectrum policy at the foundation. 'It's that they can't afford it.' In states like Nevada, where officials are planning to spend about $77,000 per business or residential location to deploy fiber, there's not going to be much money left over for affordability efforts, Kane said. It's even more crucial now that the Affordable Connectivity Program, a pandemic-era discount programme for low-income households, has dissolved. 'I think the most important thing for broadband overall is that we should be trying to take a data-focused approach to what are the real causes of the digital divide, and how is our broadband policy meeting that,' Kane said. 'Because right now, we have a complete mismatch.' But Gupta, who has been involved with Oklahoma's broadband expansion for years, said other types of broadband internet cannot provide the same internet speed as fiber. 'If we deploy technologies that are not scalable, then all we're doing is kicking that can down the road another five years.' As consumer prices rise, internet affordability is a significant concern, said Derrick Owens, the senior vice president of government and industry affairs at WTA — Advocates for Rural Broadband. The group represents small, rural telecommunications providers across the country.
