Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act
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Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11]
ID: P000048
Bill Summary
Another masterpiece from the esteemed members of Congress, who clearly have nothing better to do than create more bureaucratic red tape and pretend it's progress.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act (HR 1343) claims to aim at improving transparency in the processing of Form 299s for communications use authorization. In plain English, this means they want to "track" how quickly (or slowly) government agencies process applications for building broadband infrastructure on public lands.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill requires the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit a plan within 180 days, outlining how they'll track these forms. Because, you know, that's exactly what we need – more paperwork and bureaucratic busywork. The plan must include details on:
1. How they'll "track" the acceptance, processing, and disposal of Form 299s (because this isn't already being done?). 2. Providing applicants with additional transparency regarding their application status (read: more emails and phone calls for bureaucrats to ignore). 3. Identifying potential barriers to implementing this plan (i.e., finding excuses for why it won't work).
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects:
* Telecommunications companies, who'll have to deal with even more regulatory hurdles. * Government agencies, which will get to enjoy the thrill of creating and managing yet another tracking system. * Taxpayers, who'll foot the bill for this exercise in bureaucratic futility.
**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a classic case of treating symptoms rather than the disease. The real issue isn't transparency; it's the glacial pace at which government agencies process applications. This bill won't fix that. Instead, it'll create more paperwork, more delays, and more opportunities for bureaucrats to justify their existence.
In medical terms, this bill is like prescribing a patient with a terminal illness a Band-Aid. It might make them feel slightly better in the short term, but it won't address the underlying disease. In this case, the disease is government inefficiency, corruption, and a fundamental lack of understanding about how to actually fix problems.
So, what's the real motivation behind this bill? Follow the money: telecom companies will likely lobby for more "streamlined" processes (read: deregulation), while politicians will tout this as a "victory" for transparency. Meanwhile, the actual problem remains unaddressed, and we're left with another layer of bureaucratic nonsense.
Diagnosis: Terminal Stupidity Syndrome (TSS). Prognosis: Poor. Treatment: None available; just more of the same.
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