U.S. Representative Rodney L. Davis (IL - 13) issued the following announcement on Aug. 5.
U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL) introduced a bipartisan amendment, which was adopted, to expand access to broadband funding in underserved areas. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) co-led these efforts with Davis along with a bipartisan group of 36 of their colleagues.
“The pandemic has shown us that there are huge disparities in access to high-speed broadband, which is a vital part of modern life,” said Rep. Davis. “The critical changes I’m fighting for ensure farmers, school kids, patients, and everyone else can fully harness the power of the internet.”
Last month, Rep. Davis offered an amendment to an appropriations bill, which was adopted unanimously by the House of Representatives, to raise the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) speed standard for what qualifies as broadband - from 10 megabits per second download and 1 megabit per second upload to 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits per second upload. This will expand the number of communities that qualify for the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ReConnect rural broadband program due to a lack of quality access in these communities. It is estimated that 22% of Americans in rural areas and 1.5% of Americans in urban areas lack access to these higher speeds.
In a letter earlier this year, Davis urged Congressional leaders to increase funding for the USDA’s ReConnect Program and the rural broadband loan and grant program authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. House-passed funding levels for the ReConnect program reflect an increase of $165M, although the appropriations process is still ongoing in Congress.
Original source can be found here.