The House Agriculture Committee unanimously advanced a bipartisan bill Wednesday authorizing $43 billion to expand rural broadband service nationwide by dramatically increasing USDA's expiring loan and grant program.
The Broadband Internet Connections for Rural America Act would authorize $4.5 billion in annual funding, starting in fiscal year 2022 for the ReConnect Rural Broadband program through fiscal year 2029. The existing program, established as a pilot in 2018, would sunset June 30, 2022. Congress provided $742 million for USDA rural broadband programs in fiscal year 2021.
“This connectivity is indeed a lifeline in so many ways for our farmers, for telemedicine, (and) tele-education,” House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott, D-Ga. said. “We have got to do what our bold pioneers and forebearers did in the 1930s and 40s when we brought electricity to our rural areas.”
The bill will also be reviewed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee