Sponsors
The bill increases transparency and enables repurposing of underused Federal spectrum for civilian and commercial uses, but raises national-security/privacy exposure risks and creates administrative costs for agencies and taxpayers.
Federal agencies and Congress will get a detailed, band-level inventory of spectrum use and unused portions, improving transparency and enabling Congress to identify and reduce inefficient or duplicative Federal spectrum holdings for potential repurposing.
State and local planners, and commercial broadband providers, will gain actionable, geographic band-level information to identify available spectrum for broadband expansion or local uses.
Taxpayers stand to benefit economically if improved oversight leads to repurposing underused Federal spectrum for commercial or public use, supporting economic activity and more efficient resource use.
Sensitive national-security or operational details could be constrained by producing an unclassified public report, limiting usefulness for authorized users and risking either over-redaction or exposure of critical capabilities.
Making detailed spectrum allocations public may expose operational patterns or locations if classified protections are insufficient, creating potential security and privacy risks for operations and personnel.
Requiring an 18-month, comprehensive band-level audit will impose administrative costs and workload on Federal agencies and NTIA, creating short-term burdens for agencies and costs borne by taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by Mike Lee · Last progress February 27, 2025
Requires the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to perform a nationwide audit of electromagnetic spectrum assigned or allocated to all federal entities and deliver a detailed report to Congress within 18 months of enactment. The report must list, for each federal entity and each spectrum band, the band, purposes and amounts used for each purpose, geographic area of assignment, whether use is exclusive or shared, and any unused portions; the report must be unclassified but may include a classified annex and must be coordinated with other federal audits to avoid duplication.