The House will consider several broadband bills this week, under suspension of the rules. The bills include:

• Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025 (S. 98), which would require the FCC to establish a vetting process for prospective applicants for high-cost universal service program funding.
• Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act (H.R. 1343), which would require NTIA to submit a plan to Congress for tracking the acceptance, processing and disposition of applications for communications use authorizations on public lands or National Forest System land.
• Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act (H.R. 1681), which would require NTIA to establish an interagency strike force to support federal land management agencies' review of requests for communications use authorizations.

Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Kevin Mullin (D-CA), and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) reintroduced the Protecting American Consumers from Robocalls Act. The bill would:

• Amend the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by updating the definition of an automated telephone dialing system to include systems that dial phone numbers from a stored list successively without human intervention.
• Allow small businesses to add their numbers to the Do-Not-Call Registry.
• Provide landline and cellular consumers who have telephone numbers on the Do-Not-Call Registry a private right of action after receiving one telephone call by or on behalf of the same entity in violation of the TCPA.
• Ensure a minimum of $500 can be levied for each violation of the Do-Not-Call Registry.

The House Education and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing on the economic impact on workers and employers of artificial intelligence (AI).

Continuing the Committee’s broader series of AI hearings, this one examined how AI is affecting workplace compliance, hiring, worker monitoring, job quality and U.S. competitiveness.

The House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight held a hearing to examine the role of subsurface science and technology in advancing U.S. energy production and critical mineral supply chains.

Members from both parties emphasized the strategic importance of geothermal energy, domestic mineral development, and technological innovation for economic competitiveness and national security. Central policy issues included the scalability of next-generation geothermal technologies; vulnerabilities in critical mineral supply chains, particularly dependence on foreign sources; and the need for improved subsurface data and research coordination. Witnesses highlighted breakthroughs in drilling, AI-enabled exploration and mineral processing, while stressing persistent gaps in workforce development, permitting timelines and interdisciplinary collaboration.

The Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) Permitting Innovation Center, in collaboration with NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation, announced Permitting Innovators, a new program to accelerate and modernize federal environmental reviews and permitting.

As part of CEQ’s mandate to ensure timely environmental review across the federal government, CEQ and partner agencies have identified technology gaps outlined in the Permitting Technology Action Plan (PTAP).

In the weeks ahead, CEQ’s Permitting Innovation Center will invite industry to share tech solutions that will accelerate and modernize federal environmental review and permitting. CEQ will evaluate eligible submissions and invite applicants to participate in the inaugural Permitting Innovators Expo, where they will demo solutions to federal agency staff and the broader environmental review and permitting community.

Submission requirements and evaluation criteria will be announced soon through the Permitting Innovators newsletter.

The September 2025 direct final rule deleting nearly 400 primarily wireline-related rules and requirements that govern obsolete technology, are duplicative and no longer used in practice was published in the Federal Register on April 16. The rules are effective June 15, without further action, unless adverse comment is received by May 6. If adverse comment is received, the FCC will publish a timely withdrawal of the rule in the Federal Register.

The FCC issued a small entity compliance guide on the July 2025 report and order on updating pole attachment rules. The guide provides information on compliance requirements, record keeping and reporting requirements, and the implementation date.

The Commission also issued a small entity compliance guide on the December 2025 third report and order on direct access to telephone numbers. The guide provides information on compliance requirements, record keeping and reporting requirements, and the implementation date.