The Senate reached a bipartisan agreement last week that could spend billions of dollars in technology infrastructure.
On July 28, in a vote of 67-32, the Senate advanced debate for a nearly $1 trillion national infrastructure plan. Days later, legislators produced a 2,700-page bill that is currently going through the amendment process.
The bill includes several elements of infrastructure, from road repairs to power lines. But one of the most notable aspects is how the technology industry will benefit from this bill.
The bill, as it stands, includes several significant investments into broadband. The bill consists of a $65 billion infrastructure investment intent on “ensuring every American has access to reliable high-speed internet.”
And $42.45 billion of the set-aside allotment will be for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, which intends to target “high-poverty areas” and provide infrastructure to areas where it is lacking. In addition, $1 billion will get invested in “middle mile” grant programs, which help fund noncommercial wiring projects, such as undersea cable networks.
The $65 billion investment will significantly increase compared to past administrations, but it is still insufficient to cover all the specifics required to fix the digital divide.
“The investment of $65 billion in broadband infrastructure is laudable and desperately needed to connect all of our communities to enable remote access, work, and education,” said Tatyana Bolton, senior fellow of cybersecurity and national security at the R Street Institute. “However, it is also critical to remember that there is a three-legged stool for increasing broadband access: availability, affordability, and adoption. To achieve 100% access, we must address all three concerns.”
With rising concerns about cyberattacks, legislators are beginning to invest more into cybersecurity interests. This legislation will include $1 billion in state and local cybersecurity grants, $550 million for securing the electricity grid, and several provisions for funding cybersecurity research, sector risk management, and establishing the Office of the National Cyber Director.
“Initiatives like this are especially vital at a time when critical infrastructure systems are increasingly being targeted by cybercriminals and when there are glaring holes and vulnerabilities in the cyber defenses of state and local government agencies,” said Attila Tomaschek, a researcher at ProPrivacy magazine. “These grants will provide the incentive and the appropriate funding for such entities to truly bolster their cybersecurity capabilities and properly protect their systems from the highly sophisticated and rapidly evolving threat landscape.”
One aspect that has received less attention is incorporating provisions that would allow Congress to begin taxing cryptocurrency transactions. With cryptocurrencies becoming increasingly popular during the coronavirus pandemic, legislators have started to turn their eyes toward regulating such transactions. However, some experts are concerned about the effects of such legislation on driving crypto companies overseas. “The fact that Congress tried to push crypto regulation forward through an infrastructure bill concerns me,” said Brock Pierce, director of the Bitcoin Foundation. Pierce told the Washington Examiner that he believes the taxation of cryptocurrencies could further restrict innovation, particularly if it is forced through without allowing conversation and debate.
There are also concerns about the budgetary impact of such an investment. “From a budgetary perspective, the price tag itself is incredibly problematic,” said Jonathan Bydlak, director of the Fiscal and Budget Policy Project at the R Street Institute.
“While the entirety of the bill might seem justified due to the considerable benefits that the investment may incur, we have run unbudgeted, multitrillion-dollar deficits in response to the hardship brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the huge fiscal imbalance that existed before 2020,” Bydlak told the Washington Examiner. “If lawmakers want to make these sorts of bills more successful, they need to target spending and work to empower state, localities, and the private sector, where innovation occurs.”
