A bipartisan group of senators from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has reintroduced the Telecommunications Skilled Workforce Act, a bill to address the shortage of trained telecom workers.

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., highlighted the benefits of broadband services for rural areas, and with Democratic control of the House coming in January, offered an optimistic view on the prospects of bipartisan broadband expansion legislation.

The Secure Elections Act, S. 2593, which is expected to be marked up by the Senate Rules Committee later this month, has been freshly amended to require states to have a cyber response and communication plan in place as a precondition to receiving Federal grants to support election security and election technology modernization.

Support for S. 2593, the Secure Elections Act of 2018, is growing in the Senate as four more legislators signed on as cosponsors late last week.

A bipartisan group of 30 senators wrote to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on May 30 regarding their concerns about several aspects of a program the agency is conducting that will provide funding to help bring 4G wireless broadband service to primarily rural areas of the U.S.