H.R. 5419 · Where this bill is now
In the Senate
Passed the House Mar 3, 2026. Received Mar 4, 2026; no Senate vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryStudy barriers to broadband permits on public lands
This bill asks the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service to study and report on what's slowing down the approval process for broadband projects on public lands and national forests. Specifically, they'll look at what barriers exist and how many staff members are needed to review these requests faster.
How it affects you
This doesn't directly change anything for you right now. It's a first step to understand why broadband companies sometimes wait a long time to get permission to build or upgrade infrastructure on public lands. The report could eventually lead to faster broadband expansion in areas served by these lands, but that would depend on future action.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Sep 17, 2025)
Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act
This bill requires the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service to study and report on any barriers to and staffing needs for completing timely reviews of requests for communications use authorizations. (These are requests for easements, rights-of-way, leases, licenses, or other authorizations to locate or modify a transmitting device, support structure, or other communications facility on public lands or National Forest System land.)
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 5419
AN ACT
Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act
Sponsor: Rep. Thomas H. Kean (R-NJ-7) · Introduced Sep 17, 2025 · Public Lands and Natural Resources · 4 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Mar 4, 2026: “Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.”