Broadband bill locks in foreign-supplier preference, shields it from future reversal
S. 3565 — SUCCESS for BEAD Act · Filed by Roger Wicker (R-MS) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Dec 18, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to allow states and localities receiving broadband funding under the BEAD program to use leftover grant money for competitive subgrants supporting broadband deployment success. Eligible uses include fiber infrastructure, workforce development, Next Generation 9-1-1 systems, internet exchange points, and AI-supportive telecommunications infrastructure. The bill prioritizes projects serving unserved/underserved areas, public safety, national security, and workforce development, with a 25% matching requirement and a public challenge process for fiber projects to prevent overbuilding.
Why we flagged it
The bill's primary function is to unlock remaining BEAD funds for competitive subgrants supporting broadband deployment, public safety, and workforce development. However, a secondary but consequential provision locks in a Buy America waiver, shifting the bill's character from pure infrastructure investment to infrastructure investment with a hidden procurement carve-out favoring foreign suppliers.
- Section 4 locks in a February 2024 Build America, Buy America waiver, preventing future rescission. This is substantively unrelated to the core BEAD subgrant mechanism and represents a permanent procurement carve-out.
What the text implies
- The locked-in Buy America waiver (Section 4) prevents future administrations from restoring domestic-content procurement rules for BEAD recipients, effectively cementing a foreign-supplier preference in federal broadband infrastructure spending.
- The bill authorizes 'any use determined necessary by the Assistant Secretary' (subparagraph (A)(viii)), creating broad discretionary authority that could expand eligible uses beyond those explicitly listed, potentially including uses not contemplated by Congress.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
broadband service providers and carriers (infrastructure recipients); foreign telecommunications equipment manufacturers (via Buy America waiver); workforce development boards and training providers