Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I once again thank Representative Cammack for her leadership on the DIGITAL Applications Act. This legislation will help get rural America online to support students, small businesses, farmers, ranchers, and families. It will help constituents in my home State of Arkansas, as well as Americans across the country, who live in remote areas near Federal lands. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1665, and I yield back the balance of my time.
H.R. 1665: DIGITAL Applications Act
Introduced Feb 27, 20253 cosponsors
Sponsor
Kat Cammack
Republican · FL-3
Bill Progress
IntroducedFeb 27
Committee
Pass HouseMar 16
Pass Senate
Signed
Law
Latest Action · Mar 17, 2026
1/2
Passed the House, received in Senate
Federal broadband permits should not require paperwork
3 min readLast updated April 16, 2026
Why it matters
The bill gives Interior and the Forest Service 1 year to move a key communications permit online, then just 3 business days to publicize where applicants can find it. If that happens, companies and communities waiting on broadband projects across public lands and national forests would get a clearer digital path instead of a harder-to-track paper process.
H.R. 1665 is a narrow permitting bill, but the practical change is simple: the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, through the Forest Service, would each have to build an online portal for Form 299 applications tied to communications projects on covered federal land.
Those portals would have to be up within 1 year after enactment. Once a portal is live, the agency has 3 business days to notify the Commerce Department official who oversees NTIA, and NTIA would then post links to both portals on its website so applicants have one place to find them.
The bill covers more than one kind of approval. It applies to easements, rights-of-way, leases, licenses, and similar authorizations used to place or modify communications facilities on public lands and National Forest System land.
What it does not do is also important. It does not create new broadband funding, change permit fees, rewrite the underlying application itself, or guarantee faster approvals. It mainly changes how applications are submitted and located: online, through designated federal portals.
What does H.R. 1665 do?
1
Federal land permit applications move online
Interior and the Agriculture Department, through the Forest Service, would each have to create an online portal to accept, process, and close out Form 299 applications for communications use authorizations.
2
Agencies get 1 year to launch
Each department would have 1 year after enactment to get its portal up and running.
3
New portals must be publicized quickly
After a portal goes live, the department has 3 business days to notify the Commerce official responsible for NTIA.
4
NTIA becomes the public starting point
NTIA would have to post links to each agency portal on its website, giving applicants one central place to find them.
5
The bill covers towers, upgrades, and similar projects
The portal requirement applies to authorizations used to locate or modify communications facilities on public lands and National Forest System land.
6
Leases, rights-of-way, and easements are included
The bill applies to a range of land-use approvals, including easements, rights-of-way, leases, licenses, and similar authorizations for communications use.
Who benefits from H.R. 1665?
Broadband and wireless applicants navigating federal land rules
If you need permission to build or modify communications equipment on public land or national forest land, you'd get a defined online filing path instead of relying on older, agency-specific processes.
Rural communities waiting on projects that cross federal land
When a broadband route or tower site touches public lands or National Forest System land, a simpler permit intake process could reduce one source of delay before service reaches nearby homes and businesses.
Applicants who do not know which agency site to start with
Instead of hunting across multiple federal websites, you'd be able to start from NTIA's website, which would have to link to both required portals.
Agency staff handling repetitive permit intake work
Interior and Forest Service staff would be pushed into a standardized digital workflow for receiving and tracking these applications.
Who is affected by H.R. 1665?
Department of the Interior
The department would have to build an online Form 299 portal within 1 year and notify NTIA's parent office within 3 business days after launch.
Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service
They would face the same 1-year portal deadline for applications involving National Forest System land.
NTIA and the Commerce Department
They would not run the permit systems, but they would have to publish links to the agency portals so the public can find them.
Companies and other applicants seeking communications approvals
Anyone applying for an easement, lease, right-of-way, license, or similar authorization for a communications facility on covered federal land would shift into the new portal-based process.
On the Record
What Congress Is Saying
H.R. 1665 has come up 12 times in the Congressional Record so far.
Today, I rise in support of H.R. 1665, the DIGITAL Applications Act, legislation that I introduced to modernize how our Federal agencies process applications for communications infrastructure on Federal lands. At its core, this bill is about something very simple: bringing outdated government processes into the digital age. Today, companies seeking to deploy broadband infrastructure on Federal lands must often submit a form 299 to the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture to obtain authorization for communication facilities, such as towers or related equipment.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1665, the DIGITAL Applications Act, sponsored by my colleagues, Representative Cammack and Representative Matsui, which would promote accessibility and transparency in the permitting process for communications use authorizations. While many agencies are working to modernize their systems, application processes too often continue to rely on snail mail or email, which can lead to delays and challenges in submitting and processing. H.R.
H.R. 1665 also appeared in 1 more House floor reference and 3 routine cosponsor filings.
HR1665 Legislative Journey
Committee Action
Mar 17, 2026
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
House: Vote: 2511-2512
Mar 16, 2026
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2511-2512)
House: Committee Action
Feb 4, 2026
Committee on Agriculture discharged.
House: Vote: 51-0
Dec 3, 2025
Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 51 - 0.
House: Vote Held
Nov 18, 2025
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
House: Passed Committee
Apr 9, 2025
Ordered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent.
+2 more actions this day
House: Committee Action
Feb 27, 2025
Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
About the Sponsor
Kat Cammack
Republican, Florida's 3rd congressional district · 5 years in Congress
Committees: Agriculture, Energy and Commerce
View full profile →
Cosponsors (3)
No new cosponsors in 106 days — momentum stalled
All 3 cosponsors are Democrats. Cosponsors represent 3 states: California, Maryland, Ohio.
3Democrats·3 states
Committee Sponsors
Energy and Natural Resources Committee
8D11R1I
|0 signed20 not yet0 of 20 committee members cosponsored
No committee members have cosponsored this bill
Agriculture Committee
25D28R
|1 signed52 not yet1 of 53 committee members cosponsored
Natural Resources Committee
19D24R
|0 signed43 not yet0 of 43 committee members cosponsored
No committee members have cosponsored this bill
Energy and Commerce Committee
24D30R
|2 signed52 not yet2 of 54 committee members cosponsored
90 Republicans across these committees haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
H.R. 1665 Quick Facts
Cosponsors
3
- Committee
- Energy and Natural Resources
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Introduced
- Feb 27, 2025
Passed the House, received in Senate
Mar 17, 2026
Official Sources
H.R. 1665 on Congress.gov
The official Congress.gov page provides the bill text, status, sponsors, and actions for H.R. 1665.
U.S. Forest Service Special Uses Program
The Forest Service would have to create one of the required online portals, and its special uses program covers authorizations on National Forest System land.
47 U.S.C. 1455 at the U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel
The bill expressly incorporates the Form 299 and communications facility definitions from 47 U.S.C. 1455.
Federal Land Policy and Management Act definitions, 43 U.S.C. 1702
The bill uses the statutory definition of public lands from 43 U.S.C. 1702, which helps explain where the portal requirement applies.
Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act definition of National Forest System, 16 U.S.C. 1609
The bill adopts the statutory definition of National Forest System land from 16 U.S.C. 1609(a).
H.R. 1665 Common Questions
What would H.R. 1665 actually change?
It would require Interior and the Forest Service to put Form 299 communications permit applications into online portals. NTIA would also have to post links so applicants can find them in one place.
How long would agencies have to build the portals?
H.R. 1665 gives each agency 1 year after enactment to launch its portal. After that, the agency has 3 business days to notify the Commerce official tied to NTIA.
Would there be one federal permit portal or two?
Two. H.R. 1665 requires one portal for the Department of the Interior and one for the Agriculture Department acting through the Forest Service.
Which projects would use these online portals?
The bill covers applications to place or modify communications facilities on public lands and National Forest System land. That can include projects needing an easement, lease, right-of-way, license, or similar approval.
Would H.R. 1665 apply to upgrades of existing towers or facilities?
Yes. The bill covers authorizations to locate or modify a communications facility on covered federal land, not just brand-new builds.
Does the bill create broadband funding or lower permit fees?
No. H.R. 1665 is about how applications are submitted and found online. It does not include new funding, new grants, or listed fee changes.
What is Form 299 in plain English?
It's the federal application form used for certain communications projects on covered federal land. H.R. 1665 does not replace that form; it says agencies must handle it through online portals.
Would this bill guarantee faster broadband approvals?
Not necessarily. H.R. 1665 modernizes the filing process, but it does not set a deadline for agencies to approve or deny applications.
Based on H.R. 1665 bill text
H.R. 1665 Bill Text
“To require the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture to establish online portals to accept, process, and dispose of certain Form 299s, and for other purposes.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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