Federal Communications Commission FCC 19-120 STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER BRENDAN CARR Re: Modernizing Suspension and Debarment Rules, GN Docket No. 19-309. A new, billion dollar paper mill in Wapakoneta, Ohio is creating hundreds of good-paying jobs. A patient on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is visiting virtually with a world-leading specialist located hundreds of miles away. And a mom in Philadelphia is studying for a degree online and lifting her family up into the middle class. These and so many other jobs and opportunities would not exist in these communities without a high-speed Internet connection—and the business case for providing these broadband services would not exist without the FCC’s universal service and related programs. So as we administer the roughly $10 billion in annual support, we must be good stewards of those funds. Every dollar wasted is one that cannot support the important purposes that our programs serve. So today, we take important steps to strengthen and enhance our authority to go after bad actors. This will greatly improve our ability to safeguard the Fund, and ensure that these scarce resources go to those who need them. Thanks to the Office of General Counsel for their work on this important item. It has my full support. 2