Insights: Tech / Media / Telecom

Energy, Financials, Healthcare, Macro, Tech / Media / Telecom

Senate Republicans continue to deliberate over the major issues associated with a single, broad-based budget resolution that allows for large-scale tax cuts and spending reductions, as was passed by the House and endorsed by President Trump (versus the narrower Senate-passed version that just focuses on border and defense spending). House...

Tech / Media / Telecom

Rural Broadband (BEAD)

Secretary of Commerce Lutnick this week announced that he is undertaking a review of the BEAD program that is intended to eliminate requirements that have slowed distribution of the program's funds and that he will be shifting the priority of the program to be “technology neutral” and fund projects that deliver access at the “lowest cost.”...

Macro, Tech / Media / Telecom

CHIPS Act & Semiconductor Tax Credits

During President Trump’s speech to Congress this week, he was highly critical of the CHIPS Act and said Congress should get rid of it and whatever funding is left over. He implied that the funding hasn’t had an impact on investment/jobs in the U.S. and contrasted it with tariffs, which he suggested has caused firms like TSMC to make substantial...

Energy, Financials, Healthcare, Macro, Tech / Media / Telecom

Now that the House and Senate Republicans have each passed their own versions of a budget resolution, negotiations will commence in the coming days on adopting a joint resolution. This resolution establishes the allowable deficit parameters of subsequent “reconciliation” legislation that will make changes to taxes/spending. While Senate...

Tech / Media / Telecom

Children’s Data Privacy

The new Congress is wasting little time in resuming its efforts around children’s privacy/online safety legislation. The Senate Commerce Committee approved on a bipartisan basis Chair Cruz’s (R-TX) newly introduced Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA). KOSMA aims to enhance online safety for minors by prohibiting users under 13 from accessing...

Tech / Media / Telecom

The Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the FCC/spectrum policy, held a hearing this week on spectrum policy. Chairman Cruz (R-TX) used the hearing as an opportunity to push for enactment of his Spectrum Pipeline Act (see summary here), which would renew the FCC’s expired auction authority and require federal agencies to...