WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Republican Leader of the House Energy and Commerce Committee for the 117th Congress, issued the following statement today in response to provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) regarding Ligado: 

“I do not support the provisions in the NDAA that discuss the FCC’s decision to grant more flexible use of the L-Band spectrum for Ligado, especially banning contracts with no evidence to support they harm national security. The NDAA shouldn’t target an American company that will hurt our ability to beat China in the 5G race. Why single out an American company focused on boosting our country’s 5G leadership but leave out protections against Chinese drone manufacturers threatening our national security? This should be made right. 

“I agree with my colleagues on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees that we must protect the Department of Defense’s mission and ability to keep America safe. The same should go for the Federal Communications Commission, the expert, independent agency on commercial spectrum issues. By a 5-0 unanimous vote they determined Ligado’s proposal would not create problems of harmful interference with commercial users in neighboring bands or other government agencies, like DOD. This came after a decade of exhaustive FCC technical reviews and extensive conditioned safeguards. 

“If we are going to beat the Chinese Communist Party in the race to 5G, we should let the FCC do its job and stop these interagency fights not rooted in facts. As Republican Leader on Energy and Commerce next Congress, I’ll aggressively fight to ensure America has the global competitive edge in 5G– not just for our economy but for our national security too. To win the future, I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee on those shared goals,” said McMorris Rodgers. 

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