{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hudson.house.gov/press-releases/hudson-delivers-broadband-win-for-rural-communities-in-nc-09", "Hudson Delivers Broadband Win for Rural Communities in NC-09", "2025-12-22", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "House", "NC", "Richard Hudson", "H001067", "hudson.house.gov", "hudson", "https://hudson.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-09), who chairs the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, announced today that North Carolina has secured more than $1.5 billion of broadband funding through the Broadband Expansion, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program \u2014 a key step toward expanding high-speed internet access in rural communities across the Ninth District and North Carolina.\n\nFor years, broadband deployment in rural North Carolina was slowed by overburdensome federal red tape. Under President Trump and Chairman Hudson\u2019s leadership, Congress advanced reforms to streamline connectivity, including the SPEED for BEAD Act, which cut bureaucratic barriers and gave states greater flexibility to move projects forward.\n\n\u201cBroadband dollars don\u2019t connect a single home if they\u2019re trapped in red tape,\" said Congressman Richard Hudson. \"By removing unnecessary and arbitrary requirements on implementing broadband, we\u2019re making sure the best technology and connectivity can finally reach the rural communities that have waited far too long, so we can close the digital divide once and for all. I'm proud to say that we delivered for North Carolina and over half the nation with more to come.\"\n\n\u201cI want to congratulate North Carolina on the approval of its BEAD Final Proposal to achieve universal connectivity for its citizens,\u201d said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth. \u201cBy leveraging a smart mix of technologies tailored to the state\u2019s unique needs\u2014and securing strong private matching that puts real skin in the game\u2014North Carolina delivered more than $1 billion in savings for taxpayers. This thoughtful approach exemplifies what it means to achieve the Benefit of the Bargain.\u201d\n\nNorth Carolina has one of the largest rural populations in the country, and many communities across NC-09 remain unserved or underserved by broadband. Until recently, BEAD deployment had been stalled nationwide due to lengthy timelines and duplicative federal reviews.\n\nHudson\u2019s legislation streamlined those processes by establishing clearer timelines for approvals, reducing duplicative environmental and historic preservation reviews for low-impact projects, and restoring technology neutrality to allow providers to deploy the most effective solutions for rural areas.\n\nAs a result, broadband projects across North Carolina are now positioned to move forward more quickly, bringing high-speed connectivity to homes, businesses, schools, and emergency services throughout North Carolina.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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://hudson.house.gov/press-releases/hudson-delivers-broadband-win-for-rural-communities-in-nc-09"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4196480624377728, "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"}