Bill ID: 119/s/503
Last Updated: September 7, 2026

Sponsored by

Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO]

ID: H000273

Follow the money

The bill

NET Act

S. 503, 119th Congress — read as touching Telecommunications.

The sponsor

Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$69,400 raised

23 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

The alignment

70% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Financial Regulatory Agencies" section, p. 879-881 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Held at the desk.

November 9, 2025

Introduced

📍 Current Status

Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.

🏛️

Committee Review

🗳️

Floor Action

✅

Passed Senate

🏛️

House Review

🎉

Passed Congress

🖊️

Presidential Action

⚖️

Became Law

📚 How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

Another masterpiece of legislative theater, brought to you by the esteemed members of Congress. The NET Act, or "Network Equipment Transparency Act," because who doesn't love a good acronym? Let's dissect this farce and expose the underlying disease.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The bill's stated purpose is to direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to evaluate the impact of the telecommunications network equipment supply chain on universal service deployment. How noble. In reality, this is just a thinly veiled attempt to give the FCC more power and create a new bureaucratic hurdle for telecom companies.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill amends Section 13(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, requiring the FCC to assess how network equipment availability affects advanced telecommunications capability deployment. Oh, wow. This is going to be a real game-changer. The amendments are so convoluted that even the most ardent supporter would struggle to explain them without falling asleep.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** Telecom companies will be forced to provide more information to the FCC, because who doesn't love filling out more paperwork? Consumers might see some minor benefits from improved universal service deployment, but let's not get too excited – this is just a drop in the ocean of bureaucratic inefficiency.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** The real impact will be on the telecom industry's bottom line. This bill is a classic example of regulatory capture, where special interest groups (in this case, equipment manufacturers) use their influence to shape policy and stifle competition. The FCC will get more power, and the industry will get more red tape. Consumers will get... well, nothing they didn't already have.

Diagnosis: This bill is suffering from a bad case of "Regulatory Capture-itis," a disease characterized by an overabundance of bureaucratic nonsense and a complete disregard for the public interest. The symptoms include:

* Excessive use of jargon and acronyms * Convoluted amendments that serve no practical purpose * A complete lack of transparency (ironic, given the bill's title) * Special interests masquerading as "public good"

Treatment: Apply a healthy dose of skepticism and ridicule to the sponsors of this bill. Force them to explain their reasoning in plain English, without resorting to bureaucratic doublespeak. And for goodness' sake, don't let them near any actual policy decisions.

Prognosis: This bill will likely pass, because who doesn't love a good show of legislative theater? But its impact will be negligible, and the real winners will be the special interests who managed to sneak their agenda into the fine print.

Related Topics

Telecommunications & Broadband Access
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$69,400
16 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$3,400
Committees
$0
Individuals
$66,000

No PAC contributions found

1
THE CHICKASAW NATION
3 transactions
$3,400

No committee contributions found

1
SANKAR, SHYAM
2 transactions
$6,600
2
CARSON, RUSSELL
2 transactions
$6,600
3
GATES, WILLIAM H. III
2 transactions
$6,600
4
JAIN, AKASH
2 transactions
$6,600
5
BROWN, SAM WINFRED
2 transactions
$6,600
6
ALLHASSANI, MEHDI
1 transaction
$3,300
7
KELLEY, JIM
1 transaction
$3,300
8
KARP, ALEXANDER
1 transaction
$3,300
9
DODSON, DEWEY
1 transaction
$3,300
10
WARNER, MICHAEL
1 transaction
$3,300
11
LOGAN, HAROLD R.
1 transaction
$3,300
12
LENZMEIER, CHARLES
1 transaction
$3,300
13
LOGAN, ANN M.
1 transaction
$3,300
14
GOLDBERG, MICHAEL
1 transaction
$3,300
15
ARSENAULT, MARCEL
1 transaction
$3,300

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 3 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]

ID: M000934

Top Contributors

20

1
BORCK, LEON H.
INNOVATIVE LIVESTOCK SERVICES • EXECUTIVE
IndividualMANHATTAN, KS
$6,600
Mar 11, 2024
2
MANDELBLATT, DANIELLE
DMM PROPRIETA MANAGEMENT • MANAGER
IndividualASPEN, CO
$6,600
Sep 26, 2024
3
MANDELBLATT, ERIC
SOROBAN CAPITAL PARTNERS LP • MANAGING PARTNER
IndividualASPEN, CO
$6,600
Sep 26, 2024
4
CATZ, SAFRA
ORACLE CORPORATION • CEO
IndividualWASHINGTON, DC
$5,000
May 5, 2023
5
MISSION INDIANS, MORONGO BAND OF
INDIAN TRIBE • INDIAN TRIBE
IndividualBANNING, CA
$5,000
Aug 13, 2024
6
WILLIS, THOMAS M
CONESTOGA ENERGY PARTNERS • CEO
IndividualLIBERAL, KS
$5,000
Aug 26, 2024
7
WEILERT, STANLEY R
S&B MOTELS, INC. • HOTELIER
IndividualWICHITA, KS
$3,500
Jun 26, 2023
8
BORCK, JACKIE
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY • DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS
IndividualMANHATTAN, KS
$3,300
Mar 11, 2024
9
BORCK, JACKIE
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY • DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS
IndividualMANHATTAN, KS
$3,300
Mar 11, 2024
10
THOMAS, ROBERT
SENIOR STAR • CO-OWNER
IndividualTULSA, OK
$3,300
Feb 22, 2024

Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV]

ID: C001047

Top Contributors

23

1
CHEROKEE NATION
OrganizationTAHLEQUAH, OK
$2,800
Dec 31, 2024
2
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$1,000
Nov 8, 2023
3
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
OrganizationPRIOR LAKE, MN
$1,000
Jul 22, 2024
4
ARNOLD, JOHN MR.
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualHOUSTON, TX
$6,600
Dec 27, 2023
5
MANOCHERIAN, JENNIFER MS.
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualSCARSDALE, NY
$6,600
Feb 17, 2023
6
MANOCHERIAN, JED MR.
SELF • REAL ESTATE
IndividualNEW YORK, NY
$6,600
Feb 23, 2023
7
MANOCHERIAN, GREG MR.
SELF EMPLOYED • REAL ESTATE
IndividualPOUND RIDGE, NY
$6,600
Mar 1, 2023
8
MANOCHERIAN, KIM
PANAM EQUITIES • EXECUTIVE
IndividualNEW YORK, NY
$6,600
Mar 27, 2023
9
KAY, ALISON MS.
KIDS CAPITAL • HEDGE FUND MANAGER
IndividualBEVERLY HILLS, CA
$6,600
Jun 20, 2023
10
MANDELBLATT, DANIELLE
DMM PROPRIETA MANAGEMENT • MANAGER
IndividualASPEN, CO
$6,600
Sep 26, 2024

Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI]

ID: P000595

Top Contributors

43

1
MATCH-E-BE-NASH-SHE-WISH BAND OF POTTAWATOMI INDIANS
OrganizationSHELBYVILLE, MI
$3,300
Oct 22, 2024
2
STRATEGIC LINK CONSULTING, LP
OrganizationKENNESAW, GA
$3,300
May 28, 2024
3
MUCKLESHOOT INDIAN TRIBE
OrganizationAUBURN, WA
$3,300
Aug 11, 2023
4
OTOE MISSOURIA TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA
OrganizationRED ROCK, OK
$2,900
May 29, 2024
5
HABEMATOLEL POMO OF UPPER LAKE TRIBE OF CALIFORNIA
OrganizationUPPER LAKE, CA
$2,900
May 29, 2024
6
TURTLE MOUNTAIN BAND OF CHIPPEWA TRIBE OF NORTH DAKOTA
OrganizationBELCOURT, ND
$2,900
May 28, 2024
7
CHEROKEE NATION
OrganizationTAHLEQUAH, OK
$2,500
Jan 9, 2024
8
HABEMATOLEL POMO OF UPPER LAKE TRIBE OF CALIFORNIA
OrganizationUPPER LAKE, CA
$2,500
Jun 30, 2024
9
OTOE MISSOURIA TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA
OrganizationRED ROCK, OK
$2,500
Jun 30, 2024
10
TURTLE MOUNTAIN BAND OF CHIPPEWA TRIBE OF NORTH DAKOTA
OrganizationBELCOURT, ND
$2,500
Jun 30, 2024

Donor Network - Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

Loading...

Showing 34 nodes and 58 connections

Total contributions: $58

Top Donors - Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO]

Showing top 16 donors by contribution amount

1 Org15 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 1 helped.

  • +Telecommunicationsconfidence 0.90

    Section 2(a)(2) directs the FCC to assess how the availability of network equipment impacts deployment of advanced telecommunications capability, which could inform policies that benefit telecom providers by identifying supply chain barriers.

Who funds the sponsor on these industries

For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent — they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.

Industries this bill HELPS

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.AI-enhanced analysis provides detailed alignment ratings.

Financial Regulatory Agencies

Moderate
Vector: 66%
Pages: 879-881AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The NET Act aligns moderately with Project 2025's FCC priorities by promoting transparency and accountability in telecommunications infrastructure, particularly regarding universal service deployment, which supports economic prosperity and good governance goals. However, it does not directly address the core Project 2025 focus on reining in Big Tech or Section 230 reform."

Key themes:FCC accountabilityuniversal servicetransparencytelecommunications infrastructureeconomic prosperity

— 847 — Federal Communications Commission The FCC has facilitated the transition from 3G to 4G and now 5G offerings in two ways. First, it has freed spectrum—the airwaves needed to deliver wireless ser- vices. Second, it has preempted state and local siting and permitting laws that could otherwise slow down the buildout of next-generation infrastructure. One of the FCC’s great success stories from 2017 to 2020 was securing U.S. leadership in 5G. The FCC also administers an approximately roughly $9 billion-a-year program called the Universal Service Fund (USF), which has been funded by a line-item charge that traditional telephone companies add to consumers’ monthly bills. Expenditures from this fund subsidize rural broadband networks and low-income programs as well as connections for schools, libraries, and rural health care facil- ities. Through various COVID-era laws, Congress has also provided the FCC with a one-time $24 billion appropriation for various low-income initiatives. POLICY PRIORITIES The FCC needs to change course and bring new urgency to achieving four main goals: l Reining in Big Tech, l Promoting national security, l Unleashing economic prosperity, and l Ensuring FCC accountability and good governance.15 Reining in Big Tech. The FCC has an important role to play in addressing the threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market. Nowhere is that clearer than when it comes to Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square. Today, a handful of corporations can shape everything from the information we consume to the places we shop. These corporate behemoths are not merely exercising market power; they are abusing dominant positions. They are not simply prevailing in the free market; they are taking advantage of a landscape that has been skewed—in many cases by the government—to favor their business models over those of their competitors. It is hard to imagine another industry in which a greater gap exists between power and accountability. That is why a new Adminis- tration should support FCC action on several fronts. Specifically, the FFC should: l Eliminate immunities that courts added to Section 230. The FCC should issue an order that interprets Section 230 in a way that eliminates the expansive, non-textual immunities that courts have read into the statute. — 848 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise As one of the FCC’s previous General Counsels noted, the FCC has authority to take this action because Section 230 is codified in the Communications Act.16 The FCC’s Section 230 reforms should track the positions outlined in a July 2020 Petition for Rulemaking filed at the FCC near the end of the Trump Administration.17 Any new presidential Administration should consider filing a similar or new petition. As Justice Clarence Thomas has made clear, courts have construed Section 230 broadly to confer on some of the world’s largest companies a sweeping immunity that is found nowhere in the text of the statute.18 They have done so in a way that nullifies the limits Congress placed on the types of actions that Internet companies can take while continuing to benefit from Section 230. One way to start correcting this error is for the FCC to remind courts how the various portions of Section 230 operate. At the outset, the FCC can clarify that Section 230(c)(1) does not apply broadly to every decision that a platform makes. Rather, its protections apply only when a platform does not remove information provided by someone else. In contrast, the FCC should clarify that the more limited Section 230(c)(2) protections apply to any covered platform’s decision to restrict access to material provided by someone else. Combined, these actions will appropriately limit the number of cases in which a platform can censor with the benefit of Section 230’s protections. Such clarifications might also include drawing out the traditional legal distinction between distributor and publisher liability; Section 230 did not do away with the former, nor does it collapse into the latter. l Impose transparency rules on Big Tech. Today, Big Tech offers a black box. After Google manipulates search results, a small business can see its web traffic drop precipitously overnight for no apparent reason, potentially flipping its outlook from black to red. On Facebook, social media posts are left up or taken down, accounts suspended or permanently banned, without any apparent consistency. Out of the blue, YouTube can demonetize individuals who have risked their capital and invested their labor to build online businesses. At present, the FCC requires broadband providers to comply with a transparency rule that can provide a good baseline for Big Tech. Under the FCC’s rule, broadband providers must provide detailed disclosures about practices that would shape Internet traffic—from blocking to prioritizing or discriminating against content. The FCC could take a similar approach to

Federal Communications Commission

Moderate
Vector: 64%
Pages: 885-887AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The NET Act focuses on FCC assessment of how network equipment availability affects universal service and advanced telecom deployment, which aligns with Project 2025's broader goals of increasing transparency and oversight of the telecommunications equipment supply chain, though it does not directly address foreign adversary lists, rip-and-replace funding, or clean standards initiatives."

Key themes:network equipment transparencysupply chain assessmentuniversal service deploymentadvanced telecommunications capabilityFCC oversight

— 852 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise l Publish a foreign adversary transparency list. As part of the FCC’s ongoing work to secure our networks from entities that would do the bidding of our foreign adversaries, the FCC should do more to shine the light of transparency on the scope of the problem. To this end, the FCC should compile and publish a list of all entities that hold FCC authorizations, licenses, or other grants of authority with more than 10 percent ownership by foreign adversarial governments, including the governments of China, Russia, Iran, Syria, or North Korea. A bipartisan bill that would require the FCC to publish this type of list has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Elise Stefanik (R–NY), Ro Khanna (D– CA), and Mike Gallagher (R–WI).24 l Fully fund the federal “rip and replace” program. In 2019, Congress established a $1.9 billion Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (known colloquially as the “rip and replace” program) to reimburse communications providers for the reasonable expenses they would incur to remove, replace, and dispose of insecure Huawei and ZTE gear. However, $1.9 billion is about $3 billion short of the total amount of funding needed to complete the rip and replace process. A new Administration should ensure that the program is fully funded and should look first at repurposing and applying unused COVID-era emergency funds for this purpose. l Launch a Clean Standards Initiative. During the Trump Administration, the U.S. government launched a worldwide Clean Networks program.25 As a result of this initiative, many of the U.S. government’s allies started the process of ending their relationships with Huawei. It is time for an Administration to build and expand on this groundbreaking work by taking a similar approach to the standard-setting process. Right now, the CCP is seeking to extend its influence by exerting control over the development of standards in a variety of areas, including technology and telecommunications. It is vital that the United States meet this threat with a comprehensive clean standards initiative. l Stop aiding the CCP’s authoritarian approach to artificial intelligence. The CCP has set itself a goal of becoming the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030. Beijing is bent on using this technology to exert authoritarian control domestically and export its authoritarian governance model overseas. U.S. businesses are aiding Beijing in this effort— often unwittingly—by feeding, training, and improving the AI datasets of companies that are beholden to the CCP. One way that U.S. companies — 853 — Federal Communications Commission are doing this is by giving Beijing access to their high-powered cloud computing services. Therefore, it is time for an Administration to put in place a comprehensive plan that aims to stop U.S. entities from directly or indirectly contributing to China’s malign AI goals. Unleashing Economic Prosperity. The FCC needs to advance a pro-growth agenda that gives every American a fair shot at next-generation connectivity. This is vital for economic opportunity and prosperous communities. The current Administration has appropriated a lot of money for broadband infrastructure proj- ects, but it has failed to pair that spending with reforms that free more airwaves for wireless connectivity or streamline the permitting processes for broadband builds. That failure is holding back America’s hardworking telecommunications crews and leaving Americans stuck waiting on the wrong side of the digital divide. It is time for a return to the successful spectrum and infrastructure policies that prevailed during the Trump Administration—policies that enabled the U.S. to lead the world in 5G. l Refill America’s spectrum pipeline. From 2017 through 2020, the FCC took unprecedented steps to free the airwaves needed to power 5G and other next-generation wireless services. This work not only helped to secure America’s wireless leadership and bolster competition, but also enabled the private sector to create jobs and grow the economy. Recently, the FCC has failed to match the pace and cadence of those spectrum actions. Therefore, the FCC and a new Administration should work together to develop a national spectrum strategy that both identifies the specific airwaves that the FCC can free for commercial wireless services and sets an aggressive timeline for agency action. l Facilitate coordination on spectrum issues. Wireless services now play a central role in advancing America’s economic and national security interests. Over the past few years, this dynamic has led to an increasing number of headline-level disputes between the commercial wireless sector and federal agencies. These disputes are often framed in zero-sum terms as commercial wireless and federal agency stakeholders argue over the appropriate types and amount of airwaves that the government should allocate for various purposes. On the one hand, America’s global economic leadership depends on its ability to free spectrum that will power the U.S. commercial wireless industry. On the other hand, we must ensure that America’s national security and other federal agencies have access to the spectrum resources that they need to carry out their vital missions.

Federal Communications Commission

Moderate
Vector: 63%
Pages: 888-890AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The NET Act’s focus on increasing transparency and data collection about network equipment supply chains to inform universal service deployment aligns with Project 2025’s goals of improving efficiency, accountability, and a coordinated national broadband strategy, though it does not directly address overbuilding or deregulation."

Key themes:broadband deploymentuniversal servicetransparency/accountabilitydata-driven policyprogram efficiency

— 856 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise Administration gave the green light for recipients to spend those funds to overbuild existing high-speed networks in communities that already have multiple broadband providers. A new Administration should eliminate government-funded overbuilding of existing networks. l Adopt a national coordinating strategy. Hundreds of billions of infrastructure dollars have been appropriated by Congress or budgeted by agencies over the past couple of years that can be used to end the digital divide. Yet, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “U.S. broadband efforts are not guided by a national strategy”; instead, “[f]ederal broadband efforts are fragmented and overlapping, with more than 100 programs administered by 15 agencies,” risking overbuilding as well as wasteful duplication.26 Many of these programs remain plagued by inefficiency, further contributing to waste of limited taxpayer dollars. Moreover, the federal government is failing to put appropriate guardrails in place to govern the expenditure of billions in broadband funds. This is the regulatory equivalent of turning the spigot on full blast and then walking away from the hose. There is a worrisome lack of adequate tracking, measurement, and accountability standards governing all of this broadband spending. As a result, we are likely to see headline levels of waste, fraud, and abuse. A new Administration needs to bring fresh oversight to this spending and put a national strategy in place to ensure that the federal government adopts a coordinated approach to its various broadband initiatives. Similarly, the next Administration should ask the FCC to launch a review of its existing broadband programs, including the different components of the USF, with the goal of avoiding duplication, improving efficiency of existing programs, and saving taxpayer money. l Correct the FCC’s regulatory trajectory and encourage competition to improve connectivity. The FCC is a New Deal–era agency. Its history of regulation tends to reflect the view that the federal government should impose heavy-handed regulation rather than relying on competition and market forces to produce optimal outcomes. President Franklin D. Roosevelt recommended that Congress create the FCC in February 1934 for the purposes of establishing “a single Government agency charged with broad authority” over the field of communications.27 Congress subsequently established the FCC through the Communications Act of 1934. Congress has passed a number of additional statutes—some broad, some — 857 — Federal Communications Commission narrow—that pertain to the FCC’s authority, including most significantly the Telecommunications Act of 1996,28 which opened up markets for greater competition and largely deregulated industry segments. Technological change in the connectivity sector is occurring rapidly. We are now seeing an unprecedented level of convergence, innovation, and competition in the market for connectivity. On the one hand, traditional cable providers like Charter are now offering mobile wireless services to consumers in direct competition with traditional wireless companies like Verizon. On the other hand, a new generation of low-earth orbit satellite services like StarLink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper stand to offer high- speed home broadband in competition with legacy providers. Furthermore, broadcasters are offering high-speed downloads directly to consumers over spectrum that previously provided only TV service. These rapidly evolving market conditions counsel in favor of eliminating many of the heavy-handed FCC regulations that were adopted in an era when every technology operated in a silo. These include many of the FCC’s media ownership rules, which can have the effect of restricting investment and competition because those regulations assume a far more limited set of competitors for advertising dollars than exist today, as well as its universal service requirements. Ultimately, FCC reliance on competition and innovation is vital if the agency is to deliver optimal outcomes for the American public. The FCC should engage in a serious top-to-bottom review of its regulations and take steps to rescind any that are overly cumbersome or outdated. The Commission should focus its efforts on creating a market-friendly regulatory environment that fosters innovation and competition from a wide range of actors, including cable-based, broadband-based, and satellite- based Internet providers. AUTHOR’S NOTE: The preparation of this chapter was a collective enterprise of individuals involved in the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. All contributors to this chapter are listed at the front of this volume. While this chapter identifies certain issues on which the contributors did not all agree, the author alone assumes responsibility for the content of this chapter, and no views expressed herein should be attributed to any other individual.

Showing 3 of 5 policy matches

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using a hybrid approach: initial candidates are found using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text, then an AI model (Llama 3.1 70B) provides detailed alignment ratings and analysis. Ratings range from 1 (minimal alignment) to 5 (very strong alignment). This analysis does not imply direct causation or intent.

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