{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://walberg.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-and-senate-members-introduce-plan-broadband-act", "House and Senate Members Introduce PLAN for Broadband Act", "2022-08-04", "2022", "2022-08", "Republican", "House", "MI", "Tim Walberg", "W000798", "walberg.house.gov", "walberg", "https://walberg.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Representatives Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Peter Welch (D-VT) joined with U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-NM) to introduce the Proper Leadership to Align Networks (PLAN) for Broadband Act. The legislation requires the President to develop a national strategy to close the digital divide and a plan to implement that strategy. This legislation is based on a Government Accountability Office report that found that federal broadband efforts are fragmented and overlapping and recommended that the President develop a national broadband strategy.\n\n\u201cBridging the digital divide is critical for families, farmers, and small businesses throughout Michigan. More than ever before, having access to reliable broadband service is integral to our economy, education, health care, and most aspects of our daily lives,\u201d said Walberg. \u201cDeveloping a detailed roadmap that improves the efficiency and coordination of federal broadband programs is a commonsense step we can take to accelerate deployment to the rural communities that need it most.\u201d\n\n\u201cVermont has been a leader in coordinating statewide broadband deployment, and the PLAN for Broadband Act will bring some of those same strategies that have worked for Vermonters to the federal level to help ensure that every American can access the high-speed broadband they need to thrive,\u201d Welch said.\n\n\u201cClosing the digital divide is one of Congress\u2019 top priorities, but we cannot achieve that goal if our programs are mismanaged and lack coordination,\u201d Wicker said. \u201cA national broadband strategy will ensure our agencies are synchronized and manage these programs effectively to make sure that more Americans gain access to high-speed broadband.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhether it\u2019s preventing an entrepreneur from starting an online business, hindering students' ability to complete their homework, or limiting families' ability to seek telehealth, New Mexicans know the difference between fast internet, slow internet, and no internet,\u201d said Luj\u00e1n. \u201cI\u2019m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation that will help improve coordination between federal agencies and local and Tribal governments to deliver on the funding we made available to build high speed, affordable broadband.\"\n\nSee the full text of the legislation here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:59:24Z"]], "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://walberg.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-and-senate-members-introduce-plan-broadband-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8566060569137335, "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"}