Rural Broadband Continues To Be A Sticking Point In D.C.

One of the more hotly debated issues in D.C. these days, rural broadband.

Democrats continue to challenge the White House for proposing a $350 million cut to broadband spending in the fiscal year 2020.  House Ag Appropriations panel chair Sanford Bishop says the President’s proposed budget cuts come at a bad time for rural America.

“I have children in my district who go to the local library after school, or after football practice, at hours when the library’s closed, just to access the internet. They sit in their parents’ cars, outside the library, to do their homework.  I found that unacceptable in 2019.”

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue apologized to Bishop, saying he felt the USDA had done a better job expanding broadband access nationwide.

“We are beginning to receive the applications in just a couple of weeks for the money you appropriated last spring.  We’ve given technical assistance to many different groups.  I’m delighted by the fact that various groups are showing a lot of interest, from EMC’s and rural telecoms, and other non-profits in these different areas, as well as communities, themselves, over applying for this.”

Seventy-one House Democrats and Republicans wrote appropriators to boost rural broadband spending by $350 million in the fiscal year 2020, part of the new Farm Bill, to expand high-speed internet to homes, businesses, and schools.  They argue bridging the rural-urban digital divide is critical for rural participation in an internet-based economy, allowing commerce, precision agriculture, telemedicine, and student research.

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