Washington, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) announced she secured key funding for Rip and Replace in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024. Rip and Replace funding is integral to our national security because it will remove dangerous Chinese components from our wireless communications systems and replace them with safe and secure equipment. Without this funding, Wyoming communities could lose their access to telecommunications services.
“Chinese-manufactured equipment used to build out our broadband networks pose a serious threat to our national security and the privacy of the people of Wyoming,” said Lummis. “The NDAA fully funds Rip and Replace, ensuring small wireless and broadband carriers throughout Wyoming will not be saddled with millions of dollars in costs that could result in service blackouts and companies closing down. Poor connectivity continues to be one of Wyoming’s biggest challenges and now more than ever, we have the ability to not only ensure even the most rural corners of the Cowboy State have reliable broadband access but also protect this critical resource from foreign adversaries.”
Lummis has been a strong proponent of funding Rip and Replace due to the dangerous risk to Wyoming communities of service being cut entirely due to the high costs to fund these projects.
Earlier this year, she introduced an amendment to the appropriations bill to fully fund Rip and Replace and ensure Wyoming communities continue having access to reliable broadband and wireless services.
She also spoke at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing about the threats Chinese-manufactured equipment in our broadband and wireless networks pose to our communities and the urgent need for Congress to fund Rip and Replace.
In February 2023, Lummis penned an op-ed in the Hill expressing her serious concerns over the Chinese Communist Party’s ability to spy on the people of Wyoming through the equipment used to build out broadband and wireless networks in the state and the urgent need for Rip and Replace to be fully funded.
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