ntia serves a critical role. that include meeting the needs of federal users while also supporting advanced wireless technology to realize the promise of next generation services and connected devices. if confirmed, i will work towards a coordinated national approach to spectrum use and planning to meet the demands now and in the future. third, ntia has an important role to play in building a better internet. nftia has a statutory role in bolstering cybersecurity and advocate for america's vision of free and open communications around the world. for three decades the internet has been a positive force offering access to information, connection with community and economic opportunity. but today's internet also faces security risks, privacy and threats from authoritarian regimes. we can and we must do better. these are are ambitious goals. because of technology's growing role in our lives, these priorities are about far more than communication. they are about creating jobs for americans. they are about maintaining

closer look for to asking ntia, mr. davidson, , about those efforts of what we can do particularly on issues of digital divide and costs. i also, with a vote of chairman rosenworcel, mr. bedoya this morning today's hearing, ms. sohn and mr. davidson for getting closer dividing these agency that tools they need to do the job? >> will consider the nomination of jed kolko to be undersecretary of economic affairs at the department of commerce. welcome to you. the undersecretary for economic affairs is responsible for providing economic analysis to submitting national economic indicators, serving the administer as the department premier statistical program and including in that the beer of economic analysis in the census bureau. these bureaus and others in the department provide important critical data to our nation come to our agencies and the private sector institutes, every thing from science, climate, weather, economic indicators trade and telecommunication. mr. kolko has been chief economist at indeed since 2016. before

ntia. i'm proud to be part of a group of 22 senators that offered significant sections of the broadband program including the $42.5 billion in state dreiband grants and the deployment act with legislation that establishesab a 1 billion-dollar middle mile infrastructure program. as a former computer scientist mr. davidson you understand the internet's architecture and the importance of middle mile for structure and the crucial importance of providing it -- we have few options to connect with higher fees and areas and where there is more robust competition.o middle mile redundancy is important from an economics perspective but also from a public safety perspective as we deal with more frequent and severe's weather and wildfires d networks need to be redundant and resilient to withstand impacts of climate change so mr. davidson can you talk about the importance of resilient middle mile networks especially in states with large rural areas >> thank you senator for that question and thank you for

those same players serving in the federal bounds, and i'm not sure they made the same case to the ntia regarding federal receiver standards though it's natural for them to make, i'm sure the standards for performance are likely to stifle innovation, but one thing i'm not sceptical, it's easier to build a device with proper performance in china than here. do consumers pay a bit more? possibly, but do we define what constitutes the minimal viable product in a way that supports higher quality of service and exclude lower quality players coming from foreign manufacturers, potentially making it feasible for domestic manufacturers to compete to make higher quality devices with better components? perhaps, some of these will even be made domestically. that sounds to me like it would have a protective effect on innovation and at a minimum, mitigate some of the dominance of foreign manufacturers in the domestic market. what's a more practical matter, industry already sets its own floors. so no one would say there aren't standards out there, instead, i think everyone's concern would be that the c

opportunity to improve outcomes for crash victims, and we definitely will work with, if confirmed, ntia, to provide any information we have to make that program successful. thank you. sen. klobuchar:. -- sen. klobuchar: thank you. sen. cantwell: next, senator fischer, then senator tester and blackburn. sen. fischer: thank you for being here today. dr. cliff, on october 28, nhtsa reported that in the first six months of this year, traffic fatalities increased 18% over last year, and went on to say that the estimated 20,160 deaths is the highest in the first half of a year since 2006. based on your understanding, why are we seeing this concerning increase in highway fatalities? dr. cliff: thank you, senator, for your question. the contributing factors are the same as those that we saw pre-pandemic, but during the pandemic, we have seen that drivers are willing to take riskier action, that is excessive speeding, impaired driving, both alcohol impaired and drug use, as well as being him belted -- being unbelted. more than 10,000 fatalities reported were individuals not wearing a seatbelt, s

joining me now is michael kill, ceo of ntia, trade body of nightclubs, bars, music and entertainmentining many thanks forjoining me here on the programme this morning. what will the introduction of covid passes mean for the industry? why do you oppose them? well, it�*s hugely challenging. as you can appreciate, the time of year is crucial for businesses to build up cash reserves so they can survive the early part of next year. but our experiences in both scotland and wales suggest that we see a two 25— 30% down in trade and the points of introduction. so on top of the narrative from government around not socialising that came out from public health england and several mps or ministers we are now face, on top of cancellations and rising costs, with the potential challenge around covid passports being introduced and the effects of that this weekend. how much are you expecting trade to drop and how crucial is christmas period to your members? as you can appreciate, we have been closed for 20 months. we have upheld the public�*s health strategy of government for a long time, whether it b

wealth of both private and public sector experience before becoming an fcc commissioner he served at ntia as a senior advisor where he worked on many aspects of talev negations all seek. -- telecommunications policy. he holds more degrees than i do and more than many of us in this room. a couple of those degrees are in use it. . -- music theory. they may not always be exciting at the fcc, but it is true that since you have been on the commission, it is not exactly the same experience that may be sometime in the future, however that goes. we are really pleased that you are with us and if you would come up and delivery remarks. [applause] nathan: thank you very much for that kind introduction. it is a pleasure to be here and speak with everybody today. when music comes up, music is a spectrum as well. it is an honor, not just to be here, but to be in such a rare find air. speaking with the other distinguished -- distinguished speakers today. it is an honor to join them whether 15th anniversary. it is an important venue that lawmakers and professionals from both sides of the aisle have come

he served at ntia as a senior adviser, where he worked on many aspects of telecommunications policy. commissioner simington holds more degrees certainly than i do, and i think more that many of us in this room, but always been interesting to me that a couple of those are a music theory. which i bet at times might be helpful at the sec if things ever get exciting. i don't mean that they're not always exciting at the fcc. but it is true, isn't it commissioner simington, that since you've been on the commission with this two, two deadlock, it's probably not exactly the same experience that maybe sometime in the future. however that goes. so, we are really pleased that you're with us and if you would come up and deliver your remarks. [applause] to be >> thanks very much for that kind introduction. it's a pleasure to be here to have a chance to speak with everyone today. as i always see, when music comes up, music is after all with a spectrum as well. it's an honor not just to be here, but to be in such rarefied air. it's really a delight to speak in the shadows of the fms f's history and

as head of the ntia, mr. davidson will oversee the distribution of the $40 billion for broadband infrastructure funding coming out of our bipartisan infrastructure bill. so his job couldn't be more important as we look at providing high-speed internet to every corner of this country. he will also play an important role in expanding wireless internet networks promoting fair competition in the digital sector and ensuring every american has access to affordable and fast internet. as you know, after months of negotiation between democrats and republicans, this senate came together to pass the president's bipartisan infrastructure law, making a once-in-a-generation investment to improve roads, rail system, and public transit, address climate change by updating our power grid, and, yes, invest in high-speed internet. it's the largest investment our country has ever made in high-speed internet, and i was proud to lead in the senate the base bill representative clyburn led it in the house to make this happen when it