So we have a great guest with us today for Unmuted with Marsha, and this is probably not a name you've heard every day or about a lot of days. Brendan Carr, who is the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is with us today. And you know what is so interesting to me, Mr. Chairman, is as I talk about the FCC and the litany of acronyms that we have, people will say, 'Well, what's the FCC? The Federal Communications Commission. Well, what do they do?' So what is your elevator speech on what the FCC actually does on a daily basis and how it affects Tennesseans and all Americans?
Well, thank you so much, Senator, for having me on. It's great to be with you, and thank you so much for your leadership in the Senate and before that in the House. I've had the chance to visit Tennessee with you a number of times. There's a lot of, you know, kitchen-table issues that come right out of the FCC. Rural broadband is number one. We play a significant role in making sure that every single community in the country has access to high-speed internet, whether it's permitting reform to get these fiber builds going or it's more spectrum for 5G and mobile broadband. We also do a lot of other things in terms of regulating the media sector. We license broadcasters, and we engage a lot of reforms that help make sure our space economy is going. There's this new generation of low-Earth-orbit satellites that people know about that's bringing really next-generation connectivity to communities across the country. And then telehealth, too. We've played a significant role in supporting the rollout of telehealth services. So when people can't necessarily get to a hospital or a physical brick-and-mortar facility, they can get high-quality care delivered directly to them on a smartphone or an iPad. So there's a lot that the FCC does in the communication sector that impacts people's daily lives, and obviously you know it better than anybody from the leadership positions you have in the Senate Commerce Committee and overseeing the FCC. So thanks for everything that you're doing.
Well, we do oversee the FCC, and we think that having access to 21st-century technology is something that determines how communities are going to be able to access 21st-century economic development and education and healthcare and law enforcement. So as you said, it does touch everyone's lives. And in addition to that, you all give grants that are there. A lot of our communities have had some in this week. They've talked about grants for broadband and for healthcare access. So how do you all administer that grant pool?
Yeah, that's right. There's one program called the Universal Service Fund. It's a $9 billion a year fund, and we break it up between subsidizing internet bills in rural parts of the country where there wouldn't be a private-sector business case for it. There's a low-income component of that. There's a telehealth component of it. There's also a portion of it that goes to schools and libraries. And that's in addition to, a lot of people may have heard about this, there's a Commerce Department program called BEAD. It's a $42 billion program that was actually started by President Biden. And over a thousand days, that $42 billion program, which was intended to connect millions of Americans, didn't end up turning even a single shovel's worth of dirt because that program got sidetracked by progressive policy goals, a DEI agenda, and all sorts of other sort of, you know, social policies that held it back. But thankfully now, with Secretary Lutnick in place, I think we can get that program back on track and do our job of making sure that every single American has a fair shot at next-gen connectivity.
Well, I have a lot of counties in Tennessee that are hopeful that you can get that BEAD program back on track because the promise was there, all the big hype, but then there were so many qualifiers on the DEI and the ESG and different things that people couldn't qualify and use the money.
Yeah, that's exactly right. And so it really was a false hope.
Well, in addition, you all look at how people use the airwaves in one regard. And before the Grammys took place, I sent you a letter. The idea came to me from, and the request actually came to me from musicians and band members, people that are on the road a lot. And it was about what they consider to be kind of modern-day payola, with entertainers being required by radio stations, which by the way are using federal spectrum, and there is not compensation for that. Kind of talk through that issue a little bit because in Tennessee we've got a lot of people, people that play in bands and spend a lot of time on the road.
Yeah, well, thank you so much for your leadership. Since I became chair of the FCC, one of the very first letters I got was you raising this issue, and it's a core issue for so many people. So it's called payola, and this was a big issue back in the '90s and the 2000s. It sort of went away, but now it is rearing its head back. And the issue is a radio station can't sort of secretly exchange free performances from musicians or bands in exchange for better airplay on the radio. And the evidence we've seen suggests that that in fact has been happening significantly. So there'll be a local music festival, and the radio station will say, 'Well, you big performing band, come play for me. I'm not going to pay you. Maybe you get your expenses, and that's it. In exchange, we'll give you better airplay on our radio station, and therefore you'll make money that way.' That's illegal. That's a payola scheme by definition. And I think for a long time the FCC sort of looked the other way on that issue. And thanks to your leadership, we put out an enforcement advisory immediately. I've also launched a specific investigation into a chain of radio stations that may be violating the FCC's payola rule. This is really meaningful to artists and musicians to make sure that they're compensated adequately for their time and their work.
Well, and I think to some of the band members for the big-name musicians, that this is something, expenses is one thing, but payment for the show is another.
