Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Representative Dr. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.-25) introduced the Tribal Internet Expansion Act of 2025, legislation to help expand telecommunications and information services to Tribal communities.
“This legislation strengthens the foundation for expanding broadband and telecommunications access to Tribal Lands, supporting the needs of communities to utilize technologies so vital to economic growth and success,” said Senator Schiff. “I’m proud to join Representative Dr. Raul Ruiz in this effort to bridge the digital divide and ensure that this necessary resource is reliable, accessible, and affordable in every region.”
“Access to reliable, high-speed internet is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity,” said Congressman Ruiz. “For too long, many Tribal communities have been left without the dependable, affordable broadband needed for students to learn, patients to access care, and families to stay safe and economically secure. TheTribal Internet Expansion Act will strengthen the Universal Service Fund, so it better serves Indian Country and helps ensure Tribal Nations have the digital infrastructure they need to fully participate and thrive in today’s online world.”
The Tribal Internet Expansion Act of 2025 will update the Communications Act of 1934 to explicitly include Indian Country and expand essential broadband access to rural, insular, and high-cost Tribal and Indigenous communities. With roughly one in four people on Tribal lands still lacking access to reliable, high-speed internet, the bill helps ensure that federal broadband and telecommunications programs better address persistent connectivity gaps in these historically underserved areas.
The legislation has already received widespread support from Tribal leaders and organizations:
“On behalf of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, I want to thank Congressman Ruiz and Senator Schiff for introducing the Tribal Internet Expansion Act to help improve access to broadband internet services across Indian Country in an increasingly online world. This is a critical part of closing the digital divide in Indian Country – which is a barrier to education, economic opportunity, and healthcare services – that has persisted despite significant investment by Congress in recent years,” said Charles Martin, Chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians.
“The National Congress of American Indians supports Rep. Ruiz and Senator Schiff’s bill to ensure the Universal Service Fund (USF) adequately serves Indian Country. For over two decades NCAI has been very active at the regulatory level to ensure that the USF subsidy mechanisms evolve to address the enduring lack of communications technologies on Tribal lands, and to ensure that those mechanisms remain intact as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) leadership routinely changes hands. Last year, during the Supreme Court’s review of FCC v. Consumers’ Research, NCAI joined efforts to inform and brief the Court on the constitutionality of the USF and its importance to Tribal Nations. The term ‘digital divide’ was coined in 1995 to describe the entire nation, and now in 2025 the ‘Tribal digital divide’ has still not been permanently solved. Importantly, during the COVID-19 pandemic targeted investments in USF programs helped Tribal households gain vital access to reliable, affordable broadband services enabling students to learn, families to access telehealth, and communities to promote public safety and economic development opportunities. As many of these emergency investments have expired, this legislation is a timely and necessary step towards closing the digital divide still faced by many Tribal Nations. As more and better solutions are needed, we look forward to working with Rep. Ruiz and Senator Schiff, and other members of Congress to improve the USF’s commitment to Tribes,” said Larry Wright Jr., Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians.
“Access to broadband is essential for quality health care in our communities. Expanding this access will empower more Native patients to benefit from services such as telemedicine, which will ultimately improve health outcomes. We are grateful to Congressman Ruiz and Senator Schiff for his leadership in recognizing that digital infrastructure is a matter of health justice for all of Indian Country,” said Francys Crevier, CEO of the National Council of Urban Indian Health.
Full text of the legislation is available here.
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