Federal Reports

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is responsible for administering $48.2 billion provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) for four different broadband programs, namely the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, the Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant program, the Digital Equity Act program, and the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. Each has different programmatic requirements, but they all aim to expand broadband infrastructure and promote broadband adoption and use.

The objective for this evaluation was to identify potential challenges for deploying broadband to underserved and unserved communities. We interviewed NTIA and state and territory broadband office representatives, surveyed broadband offices, and sent questionnaires to industry stakeholder associations. Broadband officials and industry stakeholders identified challenges with the following: (1) statutory requirements, (2) Notice of Funding Opportunity provisions, (3) supply chain and labor market shortages, and (4) NTIA’s communication process. Our report describes these challenges and does not make recommendations.

This report presents the results of our audit of Mail Theft Mitigation and Response at the Beechnut, Debora Sue Schatz, and T W House Stations in Houston, TX (Project Number 25-023). The stations are in Texas 2 District of the Retail and Delivery Operations, Southern Area. Our objective was to assess the U.S. Postal Service’s actions taken to mitigate and respond to mail theft in Houston, TX. This is one of a series of mail theft audits across the Postal Service.