{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-ohalleran-herrell-kuster-introduce-legislation-expand-access-rural", "Johnson, O\u2019Halleran, Herrell, Kuster Introduce Legislation to Expand Access to Rural Broadband", "2022-03-11", "2022", "2022-03", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Dusty Johnson", "J000301", "dustyjohnson.house.gov", "dustyjohnson", "https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Tom O\u2019Halleran (D-AZ), Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.), and Annie Kuster (D-N.H.) introduced the Connect Unserved Americans Act, a bipartisan bill to ensure funding allocated to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for broadband is targeted to rural areas most in need of reliable service.\n\nThe bill would increase the unserved household threshold for the USDA ReConnect Program from 50% to 80%, preventing the overbuilding of existing broadband networks at taxpayers\u2019 expense. In South Dakota, 25% of rural residents lack access to broadband. Over 2 million Americans lack access to broadband speeds nationwide.\n\n\u201cThe pandemic exposed the cracks in our communities from the supply chain to internet access,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cThe Connect Unserved Americans Act prioritizes areas that need connectivity and broadband the most. The ReConnect Program is a strong tool to ensure rural areas receive the services they need \u2013 our bill makes it even stronger.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the need for high-speed, affordable internet for every family\u2014kids completing homework, parents teleworking, small businesses adapting to our changing economy, and doctors reaching their patients through telehealth,\u201d said O\u2019Halleran. \u201cHowever, far too many families in Arizona\u2019s First District lack access to any broadband connection. I\u2019m proud to join this bipartisan group to introduce a commonsense bill that will work to ensure federal broadband funding reaches the communities most in need, preventing waste of taxpayer dollars by directing resources to the rural areas at the highest disadvantage.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am proud to support a bill that will connect the hard-working families of New Mexico,\u201d said Herrell. \u201cMore than 33% of our citizens don\u2019t have access to the minimum standard for broadband and approximately 122,000 people don\u2019t have access to any broadband at all. This legislation is a critical step towards closing the digital divide while also preventing wasteful use of taxpayer dollars by overbuilding our broadband networks.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the urgent need to expand access to broadband in New Hampshire and across the country,\u201d said Kuster, a member of the House Rural Broadband Task Force. \u201cGranite Staters working from home, local small businesses, and patients accessing important care through telehealth appointments all need sufficient access to high-speed internet. I\u2019m proud to join this group of my Republican and Democratic colleagues in introducing this legislation to ensure federal funding to expand broadband access is reaching our rural communities and those most in need. I will continue working to expand access to broadband across New Hampshire.\u201d\n\nU.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced the Senate companion in February.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:06:17Z"]], "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://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-ohalleran-herrell-kuster-introduce-legislation-expand-access-rural"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9777070954442024, "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"}