All content relating to the 118th Congress
Latest info on the 119th Congress (2025-2026)
Published January 19, 2025
The 119th Congress was sworn into office on January 3, 2025. Below is a recap of legislation during the 118th Congress, selected administrative actions during the past two years, and a look ahead to the 119th Congress.
Contents
Legislative Review
1. By the numbers: 94 total bills, 4 became law, and 20+ on deck
During the 118th Congress Environmental Health Trust (EHT) systematically tracked legislation that would increase the public’s exposure to manmade electromagnetic fields (EMF, which includes wireless radiation) in the United States.
EHT identified over 200 bills, amendments, and congressional resolutions that potentially related to EMF. A number of these were amalgamated into larger bills. Overall, 94 bills would, if adopted, have increased public’s EMF exposure and further densified wireless antennas in the United States. We further scored these bills according to the level of impact they were likely to have on EMF and/or antenna proliferation (see table below). Overall, 4 bills were signed into law. Over 20 bills passed favorably out of committee with support from the incoming majority in the 119th Congress and are therefore “high-risk” for being reintroduced in the new Congress.
| Topic | Type 1 | Type 2 | Type 3 | Totals | # Passed* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |
| Federal Lands | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 1 |
| Other | 1 | 1 | 11 | 13 | |
| Permitting | 5 | 3 | 8 | ||
| Rural | 1 | 6 | 15 | 22 | |
| Satellites | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | |
| Spectrum | 12 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 2 |
| Totals | 29 | 25 | 40 | 94 | 4 |
* Final count pending updates from congressional clerks at the end of the 118th Congress. Number of bills passed based on final legislative action. For example, HR 6492 is counted as one bill passed, although it included three other wireless bills (for a total of 4 tracked).
Definitions
- Type 1: Extensive impact across the country
- Type 2: Significant impact on certain regions or users
- Type 3: Impact likely to be less than other bills
Four bills that passed (see below for further description):
- HR 6492 (EXPLORE Act) – helps deploy cell towers on federal lands
- S.1648 (Launch Communications Act) – streamlines satellite launches
- HR 5009 (Spectrum and Secure Technology and Innovation Act of 2024) – authorizes AWS-3 spectrum auction
- S.2787 (5G SALE Act) – allows the FCC to issue a license in respect of 2.5 GHz spectrum previously auctioned
2. A context of gridlock
Out of over 16,000 bills introduced between both chambers, Congress passed just under 150 bills during the 118th session, according to Axios. This is well below the typical number, of between 300 to 450 bills passed per term, over the last two decades. While both parties have been supportive of wireless, they have different approaches for how it should be expanded. The larger context of gridlock during the 118th Congress – with the House controlled by Republicans, and the Senate and White House controlled by Democrats –stalled many bills, including wireless bills. During the 119th Congress, with one party controlling both chambers and the White House, we may see a push to renew many of the wireless bills that failed during the 118th Congress. For example, 20 bills passed in committee in the House, but did not progress further. In the first week of the 119th Congress, 2 bills preempting local authority have already been reintroduced.
3. Good news: no expanded preemption of local permitting authority
HR 3557. This bill presented the greatest threat since 1996 to local governments’ decision-making over the placement of cell towers and other wireless facilities. It would have virtually eliminated all local discretion over placement of antennas. While it passed in committee on strict party lines (with Republican support in the House), fortunately it did not go proceed in the full chamber. Thank you to all the groups that lobbied against this bill, which included not only safe technology groups around the country, but also local government rights’ groups, such as the National Association of Counties, US Conference of Mayors, and National League of Cities.
HR 3557 was an amalgamation of roughly two dozen bills sponsored by Republican members of the House. Our coalition needs to stay on alert for these bills being reintroduced (HR 278 and 339 have already been reintroduced during the 119th Congress) and educating the incoming majority in Congress on the dangers of preempting local authority.
S.4753 (Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024) is another bill to watch out for in the next Congress, which passed out of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources committee, although it did not see a vote in the full Senate. This bill (a) preempts local authority over certain high voltage, long-distance electricity transmission lines, (b) attempts to remove administrative standing for residents who live adjacent to them, (c) shifts decision-making over certain matters from the Department of Energy to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (which has governance more similar to that of FCC), and (d) contains certain exemptions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
4. Lost battle: Cell towers on federal lands
Federal lands were a big loser in the 118th Congress. Fortunately, some of the worst bills, which contained widespread NEPA exemptions for wireless facilities on federal lands, did not pass (such as S.2855 and HR 8230). Although HR 8230 did make it into the House version of the farm bill – which was deferred until late 2025.
HR 6492 (the EXPLORE Act) passed by voice vote in both the House and Senate, meaning not a single member of either chamber disagreed with the bill. Some large environmental groups, like the Sierra Club, supported this bill, while several groups opposed it, including Wilderness Watch and PEER. The bill pushes federal land managers to deploy cell towers on recreational areas of federal lands, which includes national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, and rangelands. The bill contains the Connect Our Parks Act, for wireless deployments in national parks, which our founder wrote about when it was first introduced. In addition, the Act allows all federal land managers (not just for recreational areas) at the Department of Interior (which manages 70% of federal lands) to delegate decision-making over wireless facilities to industry consultants. These consultants will be able to decide whether to approve the construction of new facilities and be responsible for monitoring whether wireless facilities with applicable law and regulations.
The House also passed unanimously HR 3343 and 3293, both of which would help push federal land managers to approve cell towers.
HR 8790 (passed by a vote of 268-151) contained section 303, which would attempt to use 5G to prevent wildfires, and has already been reintroduced as HR 471 in the 119th.
5. Mixed Results: Spectrum Policies
An ongoing topic during this Congress was whether to transfer more spectrum rights from the federal government to commercial users. Both political parties want to transfer more spectrum but have different ways to approach it. Once Congress legislates federal spectrum to be transferred, the FCC then auctions the spectrum to commercial users. The FCC’s authority to conduct these auctions expired on March 9, 2023, reportedly due to objections from the Senate Armed Services committee. The absence of auction authority was a positive for EHT’s goals as it meant that additional spectrum could not be repurposed for commercial use (which results in additional non-ionizing radiation exposure across the country). In March 2024, then FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel issued a statement expressing frustration with not being able to auction additional spectrum.
On March 12, 2024, Senators John Thune and Ted Cruz introduced S.3909, which would have required auctioning of 2500 MHz of spectrum over the coming years. Senator Cantwell introduced S.4207, which would’ve required auctioning of 550 MHz of spectrum, with a plan to study a further 1975 MHz for potential transfer. Neither bill passed.
HR 9340/ S.4049. While the larger spectrum bills above did not pass, Congress authorized the auction of 65 MHz of spectrum in what is known as the AWS-3 bands (1695-1710 MHz; 1755-1780; 2155-2180 MHz). Congress was unable to get an AWS-Bill 3 passed as a standalone bill, and therefore this action was inserted into the National Defense Authorization Act of 2025 (HR 5009, section 5403, labeled as the Spectrum and Secure Technology and Innovation Act of 2024). The final bill text was provided to the public on a Saturday, only four days before the House voted on this must-pass bill (on a “take it or leave it” basis) to keep the military running.
This AWS-3 authorization came in the face of the FCC ignoring a mandate by the US Court of Appeals DC Circuit, in our successful lawsuit Environmental Health Trust, et al. v. FCC (2021). The court ordered the FCC to address impacts on humans and the environment; 3.5 years later it has not yet done so. The FCC should not conduct any further spectrum auctions or make spectrum available until it has determined its actions are safe for the American public. Spectrum transfers result in more antenna deployments under what is known as “Section 6409” preemption: once these AWS-3 auctions are complete, wireless carriers can add antennas to every cell tower in the country to transmit on these new frequencies. Local decision-making is preempted for these expansions under 6409. Constituents across the country can still ask their federal representatives to make the FCC’s ability to carry out these AWS-3 auctions contingent on complying with the DC Circuit court order.
S.2787 is the second spectrum bill that passed. The bill was regarded in Congress as a procedural fix and passed unanimously in both the House and Senate. In 2022, the FCC auctioned 117 MHz of spectrum, in the 2.5 GHz range. As a result of auction authority expiring in March 2023, the FCC said it did not have authority to issue licenses to the 2022 auction winners. The bill gave the FCC a 90-day window to grant licenses to these winners. T-Mobile was the winning bidder for approximately 90% of these licenses.
6. Partially lost battle: Satellite deployment
Five bills sought to “streamline” low Earth orbit satellite deployments without any US government entity having conducted safety or environmental review of these deployments. The FCC decided in 1986 (39 years ago) that satellites were categorically excluded from review under NEPA, and has provided no justification for maintaining this exclusion – despite the fact that low Earth orbit mega constellations did not exist at the time the FCC made that decision. In addition to radiofrequency emissions from satellites, launches release toxic emissions into the atmosphere. Each satellite only has a five-year lifespan, after which it is burned up in the atmosphere and spread as a fine dust of toxic metals over the earth. If satellite deployments continue as planned, we will have tens of thousands of satellites burning up every year spreading toxic dust across the planet. The bills that would’ve had the greatest impact on increasing launches (HR 1338 and S.4010) did not pass.
S.1648. In September, at the height of partisan division over the election and budget negotiations, Congress unanimously agreed on the importance of launching more satellites. Both chambers approved this bill by voice vote. The bill forces the FCC to make available three additional pieces of spectrum for launching satellites.
7. Gridlock: Broadband deployment policy
Republicans and Democrats have different ideas about how to address the digital divide and, perhaps as a result, none of the broadband policy bills passed.
8. Gridlock: Precision Agriculture
A number of bills sought to use government resources to help deploy precision agriculture, through creating new regulations, standards-setting, tax credits, grants, or loans to farmers. Some of these proposals were incorporated in the Farm Bill, a once-every-five-years update to agriculture policy. Due to gridlock, the 2018 farm bill, which expired in 2023, was extended by one year until 2024, and extended again by one year until late 2025. Look for a farm bill in the new Congress. Unfortunately the term “precision ag” is becoming synonymous with wireless internet of things deployed on farms. We urge policymakers to identify beneficial uses of precision agriculture, without wireless radiation. Radiofrequency emissions have been shown to have negative impacts on crop yields and livestock health.
9. Bright spot: HR 8082
We had one fantastic piece of legislation introduced during the 118th Congress – the
Securing Local Communities Input in Broadband Development Act. In 2018, the FCC instituted a number of regulations that further preempted local decision-making over the siting of cell towers: the Small Cell Order forced local governments across the country to update their local zoning to fast-track deployment of wireless facilities; the Moratoria Order prohibited local governments from pausing wireless deployments.
HR 8082 would have canceled both orders. The history of this legislation illustrates the importance of local advocacy across the country. After a proposal to install 20 cell towers along the Jersey shore in Belmar, NJ, residents organized and brought a lawsuit to stop the deployment. The situation garnered the attention of Belmar’s member of Congress, Chris Smith (R-NJ-4), who introduced legislation to help his constituents. Constituents across the country can contact their members of Congress and urge them to join Chris Smith by cosponsoring this legislation to restore local decision-making.
Federal Rulemaking
10. FCC change in leadership
Upon the presidential inauguration on January 20, the current FCC chair, Jessica Rosenworcel will step down. The incoming chair, Brendan Carr, voted in favor of the FCC regulations in 2018 described under paragraph 9 above (as well as other regulations that preempt local government), and has praised those regulations for deploying more cell towers. In 2019, he was part of the FCC that decided to maintain its current radiofrequency exposure limits – a decision that was later found to be in violation of the law by the DC Circuit. In 2024, he wrote that, thanks to these rules, the number of new cell sites increased by 65 times from 2016 until 2019 (editor’s note: even more towers have been built since 2019). He also wrote that the FCC has failed to further “streamline the permitting processes” since 2020. Unfortunately, the phrases “permitting reform” and “streamlining” have come to refer to additional regulation from the federal government in Washington that overrules state and local government decision-making. True permitting reform would mean canceling the thicket of FCC regulations that preempt and hamstring local governments. We urge the FCC to roll back its regulations and uphold states’ rights and local control. The incoming FCC chair has also called for the FCC to “expedite its work” to allow the launch of more satellites. We urge the FCC to halt all such work until it has assessed the safety of these deployments. Read more about satellite risks here. President Trump has nominated Olivia Trusty to be an FCC Commissioner.
11. Net neutrality implemented and struck down
In 2024, the FCC reclassified wired and wireless broadband as a “telecommunications service” under federal law. The FCC’s stated reason was to give the Commission greater regulatory authority over broadband. The topic has been debated for over two decades and we take no position on the net neutrality debate. However, a “side effect” of this reclassification would have been to significantly expand the scope of federal preemption over local zoning authority for wireless facilities. The scale of this preemption was likely to be similar to that of HR 3557 (see above). A number of groups filed comments urging the FCC to “forbear” from this wireless preemption, including NATOA, NLC, a coalition of local governments, and a coalition of Wired Broadband et al. The FCC ignored these comments and adopted the final rule with preemption, in April 2024. The rule was immediately challenged in court. On January 2, 2025 the Sixth Circuit struck down the net neutrality rule, thereby preserving the status quo with respect to wireless preemption.
12. E-Rate funding for Wi-Fi outside of schools
The e-rate program provides funding to schools and libraries to deploy communications and information services, for example connecting schools to broadband. It has long allowed this funding to be spent on wireless technology inside of school buildings. Over the past two years, the FCC has expanded the eligible uses for this funding to enable Wi-Fi for children outside of school premises, with two separate orders:
- Installing Wi-Fi on school buses:
EHT helped organize comments on this rulemaking. Republicans opposed the rule, while Democrats supported it, also introducing a proposed bill to protect this funding under law. Republican senators supported a court challenge, which is ongoing. - Purchasing Wi-Fi hotspots for school libraries:
This rule funds hotspots that students can borrow from the school library (which transmit both cellular and Wi-Fi signals) to have wireless connectivity at home. A court challenge to the order was dismissed.
13. BEAD funding expanded to satellites
In 2021, the 117th Congress adopted the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which allocated $42.5 billion for the BEAD program to deploy broadband to unserved and underserved parts of the country. NTIA, the agency tasked with deploying these funds, favored fiber deployment. EHT filed comments, which you can read here. Following pressure from the House majority, on January 2, 2025 NTIA relaxed its rules, allowing BEAD funding to be used more easily on satellite and fixed wireless deployments. The incoming FCC chair has been a proponent of increased BEAD allocation for satellite services.
14. Commerce Department (NTIA), HHS, FDA, EPA leadership changes
In addition to the FCC, leadership changes are coming to all federal agencies, including those that have a role in oversight of RF topics. These include Department of Commerce (and its NTIA), HHS, FDA and EPA. As of this writing President Trump has nominated Howard Lutnick for Commerce Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr for HHS Secretary, Marty Makary for FDA Commissioner, and Lee Zeldin for EPA Administrator. The NTIA administrator has not been nominated yet. U.S. Senate confirmation hearings for these nominees will occur in the coming weeks.
Finally, a big thank you to all the groups that used this information during the past two years. Thousands of individuals contacted their federal representatives expressing views on these bills. Please continue to follow ehtrust.org/congress for ongoing updates.
https://ehtrust.org/recap-of-the-118th-congress-2023-2024/ Source: Environmental Health Trust