{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/2023/6/rep-sewell-announces-historic-1-4-billion-from-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-to-expand-broadband-in-alabama", "Rep. Sewell Announces Historic $1.4 Billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Expand Broadband in Alabama", "2023-06-26", "2023", "2023-06", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri A. Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", "sewell", "https://sewell.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Part of the single largest federal investment in high-speed internet in U.S. history\n\nBirmingham, AL \u2013 Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) announced that $1.4 billion from President Biden\u2019s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will soon make its way to Alabama to expand access to high-speed internet. The funding\u2014which has been allocated by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration\u2019s (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program\u2014is part of an over $40 billion nationwide investment by the Biden-Harris Administration in America\u2019s broadband infrastructure, the single largest federal investment in high-speed internet in our nation\u2019s history. Rep. Sewell was the only member of the Alabama congressional delegation to vote in favor of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.\n\n\u201cIn our 21st century economy, access to reliable high-speed internet is not a luxury. It is a necessity,\u201d said Rep. Sewell. \u201cThanks to President Biden\u2019s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we\u2019re devoting more resources than ever before to expanding broadband, closing the digital divide, and ensuring that every Alabamian can connect to high-speed internet. These funds will be a game-changer for our state, and I look forward to working with ADECA to ensure that they are equitably distributed to HBCUs and underserved communities, including in Birmingham and the Black Belt.\u201d\n\nBroadband internet is necessary for Alabamians to do their jobs, participate equally in school learning, access health care, and stay connected. Yet as of 2021, 18% of Alabama households did not have an internet subscription, and 11.5% of Alabama residents lived in areas where, under the FCC\u2019s benchmark, there was no broadband infrastructure. The $1.4 billion in BEAD funding announced today will be used to deploy or upgrade broadband networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service. Once deployment goals are met, any remaining funding can be used to pursue eligible access-, adoption-, and equity-related uses.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:08:25Z"]], "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://sewell.house.gov/2023/6/rep-sewell-announces-historic-1-4-billion-from-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-to-expand-broadband-in-alabama"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8368049748241901, "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"}