Congress demands transparency on $42.5B broadband spending program
H.R. 1579 — Broadband Buildout Accountability Act · Filed by August Pfluger (R-TX) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 25, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires the Assistant Secretary of Commerce overseeing the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Currently, BEAD operates under a secrecy exemption; this bill removes that exemption and makes the program's records and decisions subject to public disclosure requests.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative effect is to impose FOIA compliance on a previously exempt federal program. It is a transparency mandate, not a substantive policy change to the program itself.
What the text implies
- Removal of the FOIA exemption may slow program administration if agencies must respond to high volumes of disclosure requests, though FOIA includes exemptions for deliberative process and competitive harm.
- Contractors and applicants may face increased scrutiny of their proposals and communications with BEAD officials, potentially affecting competitive dynamics.
- State and local broadband authorities receiving BEAD funds may face indirect transparency pressure if their interactions with federal officials become subject to disclosure.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens gain transparency into how a massive federal broadband program allocates public money across states and communities. FOIA access enables public scrutiny of funding decisions, contractor selection, and program administration — core accountability mechanisms for a $42.5B infrastructure program.
Named in the bill
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD), Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Department of Commerce
Where it stands
5 cosponsors: 5 Republicans.
- Feb 25, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 25, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
2 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $8,190,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 31 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.
August Pfluger, the sponsor, reported $1,070,325 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Ncta - the Internet & Television Association — $6,870,000 on 2 filings
- Cox Enterprises Inc. — $1,320,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (377 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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