Four Senators recently introduced a bill to streamline and bolster USDA broadband grant programs and ensure their funding is targeted to rural areas that need it the most.
The lawmakers are: Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), ranking member and chairman, respectively, of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband. Also sponsoring the bipartisan Rural Internet Improvement Act are Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Deb Fischer (R-NE), members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
“Access to these broadband services is typically determined by where you live, which often leaves rural communities in the dust,” said Thune. “Our bipartisan legislation would help bridge the digital divide by improving USDA’s ReConnect Program to ensure its funding goes to truly unserved areas.”
NCTA – The Internet and Television Association, said the measure would replace existing programs with a revised ReConnect program that would enhance participation and results so more communities can be connected to broadband even faster. “Most significantly, this bill would direct funding for network expansion to areas where at least 90 percent of households lack access to broadband. It would encourage reliance on applicants with demonstrated experience constructing and operating broadband networks in order to promote network construction that is on budget and on time.”
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