ICYMI: CfG President McIntosh Issues Letter to Senate Commerce Republicans on Spectrum Policy

“If this Committee is adamant about pursuing less efficient ways of freeing up spectrum, then we strongly urge you to do it in a way that doesn’t enrich woke special interests.”

Washington, D.C. – In case you missed it, Club for Growth President David McIntosh sent a letter to Republican Members of the Senate Commerce Committee, urging support for a free-market approach to U.S. wireless spectrum policy. The letter advocates for a dual-track approach that would permit auctions for the exclusive and shared use of spectrum space. Under this system, the auction that generates the highest net revenue for taxpayers would win. Politico’s Gabby Miller covered the development in an exclusive report for Morning Money.

Click here to read the full letter from Club for Growth President David McIntosh.

Click here to read the full coverage in Politico.

LETTER EXCERPTS:

The Club for Growth supports this Committee’s efforts to free up wireless spectrum for commercial use. We believe that the wireless innovation and investment enabled by access to spectrum can generate economic growth. However, we write with concern regarding the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2024, which was introduced in the last Congress and is under consideration for reintroduction. 

This bill would require the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to redesignate broad swaths of heavily used federal spectrum bands to be cleared and auctioned for full power, exclusive commercial use. By setting the power levels and terms of use in this manner, the legislation would effectively only enable participation in the auction by the big three wireless carriers: AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Far from a free-market approach, the Spectrum Pipeline Act amounts to central planning—picking the winners of the auction before it even starts, while excluding all other market participants who use different spectrum technologies than Big Wireless.

Let’s set the record straight about Big, Woke, Wireless. For years, these companies have funneled their profits into diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that promoted radical viewpoints to employees, including advocacy for defunding the police and deriding the United States and capitalism as “systems of racism.”

If that weren’t bad enough, these companies have shown little regard for President Trump’s base when it comes to their investments and deployments. 

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There’s a better way. Recently, in another letter to Chairman Cruz and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, Club for Growth outlined a dual-track auction that would protect taxpayers and get federal bureaucrats out of the business of picking winners and losers. 

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If this Committee is not willing to consider our dual-track proposal, this Committee needs to take a very careful look at the alternatives. However, the Spectrum Pipeline Act represents a complete giveaway to three giant, woke corporations who consistently neglect to serve rural Americans. If this Committee is adamant about pursuing less efficient ways of freeing up spectrum, then we strongly urge you to do it in a way that doesn’t enrich woke special interests.