<!rnngr£1ls nf f4£ 11tnit£~ ~tat£s 1!111a.sf1ingtou, :mar 20515 61 January 29, 2020 The Honorable Ajit V. Pai, Chairman Federal Communications Commission 445 12111 Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 Dear Chairman Pai, We are concerned that the FCC is moving forward on its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (ROOF) proposal in a haphazard manner without consulting states that share the goal of effectively serving residents with broadband. In pa1ticular, the requests of the State of California, the most populous state in the country, are being overlooked. We urge you to delay considering the ROOF proposal until you can update it to ensure that federal and state mechanisms for investing in broadband infrastructure are better coordinated. Nearly half a million households in California lack access to broadband. Earlier this month, California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a ' Broadband for All' strategy to begin to solve this problem. We understand that the staff of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) met with FCC staff to request federal-state partnerships as part of ROOF, which the FCC has ignored. Given that up to $2.1 1 billion of the RDOF could be available for Califo rnia bids according to the CPUC, we urge you to delay considering the proposal until you can update it to better align with the efforts of California, and the 30 other states that administer broadband access programs to ensure that the RDOF is deployed in the most effective and prudent way possible. Most gratefully, _ _..Annaem G. Eshoor&::: ~ Member of Congress ~t~§ N\gBvA-......._ ;;::.~.. ~~ Member of Congress Member of Congress cc: The Honorable Michael O'Rielly, Commissioner The Honorable Brendan Carr, Commissioner The Honorable Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioner The Honorable Geoffrey Starks, Commissioner PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER