{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bishop.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-bishop-applauds-georgia-distribution-of-more-than-10-million-in-american-rescue-plan-funds-to-help-improve-rural-education", "CONGRESSMAN BISHOP APPLAUDS GEORGIA DISTRIBUTION OF MORE THAN $10 MILLION IN AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS TO HELP IMPROVE RURAL EDUCATION", "2021-10-12", "2021", "2021-10", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.", "B000490", "bishop.house.gov", "bishop", "https://bishop.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "COLUMBUS, GA \u2013 Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) applauded last week's announcement by the Georgia Department of Education's (GaDOE) Office of Rural Education & Innovation that it will be distributing funds from the American Rescue Plan to support rural schools and districts by including funding to expand internet connectivity and promote workforce development throughout the State and in Georgia's Second Congressional District. Altogether, over 80 schools and 10 counties are being awarded funds in the district.\n\n\"The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly strained our education system. It highlighted the need for better broadband connectivity in our rural communities so that children can remain connected to their teachers,\" said Congressman Bishop. \"Reopening \u2014 and keeping our schools open \u2014 safely as well as closing the \u2018homework gap' by expanding broadband internet access have been challenges for schools across the country. Earlier this year, I fought in Congress to pass the American Rescue Plan to meet these challenges and today these funds can be used to improve the lives of thousands of students across middle and southwest Georgia.\"\n\nTo increase connectivity throughout the state and in rural areas, six counties in Georgia's Second Congressional District will receive grant reimbursements of $40,000 each from the GaDOE's Office of Rural Education & Innovation and GaDOE's Office of Technology. This will be used to help them upgrade their current equipment to handle increased capacity and allow them to fully utilize expanded internet bandwidth.\n\nThese funds were made available through additional funds to the U.S. Department of Education's Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund made possible by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021. Congressman Bishop helped craft and lead the effort to pass this emergency funding by this past December. 39 counties and 4 cities across Georgia are able to improve their internet connectivity through these federal funds.\n\nThe $40,000 (per county) grant reimbursement will be divided by:\n\nFive schools in Crisp County;\n\nSeven schools in Grady County;\n\nEight schools in Lee County;\n\nFifty-three schools in Muscogee County;\n\nSix schools in Peach County; and\n\nSeven schools in Sumter County.\n\nIn conjunction with GaDOE Office of Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education, GaDOE's Office of Rural Education & Innovation awarded eleven school districts a total of $9,952,853 to equip middle and southwest Georgia middle and high schools with the tools they need to safely open and stay open so that students receive hands-on, industry-standard instruction in career pathways. The funds are part of the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) program.\n\nIronically, no Republicans in the U.S. House or U.S. Senate voted to pass the American Rescue Plan which made these much needed funds possible to 7 cities and 50 counties across the state.\n\nThe allocations are as follows:\n\nColquitt County was awarded $38,960.\n\nDecatur County was awarded $98,750.\n\nEarly County was awarded $100,000.\n\nLee County was awarded $47,195.\n\nMiller County was awarded $99,956.\n\nMitchell County was awarded $100,000.\n\nRandolph County was awarded $100,000.\n\nSchley County was awarded $90,986.\n\nSeminole County was awarded $100,000.\n\nTerrell County was awarded $77,006.\n\nThe City of Pelham was awarded $100,000.\n\nFor more information on GaDOE's Office of Rural Education & Innovation, visit the Georgia Department of Education's website, https://www.gadoe.org/rural/Pages/default.aspx.\n\nFor more information about the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund, visit the U.S. Department of Education webpage for the program, https://oese.ed.gov/offices/education-stabilization-fund/governors-emergency-education-relief-fund/.\n\nFor more information about the American Rescue Plan, you can visit Congress.gov (https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1319/), where the ESSER program is included in Title II, Subtitle A, Part 1.\n\nFor more information about ESSER, visit the U.S. Department of Education webpage for the program, https://oese.ed.gov/offices/american-rescue-plan/american-rescue-plan-elementary-and-secondary-school-emergency-relief/.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:24:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bishop.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-bishop-applauds-georgia-distribution-of-more-than-10-million-in-american-rescue-plan-funds-to-help-improve-rural-education"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0114689357578754, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}