{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=C68942AA-7B23-4FDE-85BA-4765B07A057B", "Fischer Announces Advancement of Nearly Half Billion in NE Broadband Funding", "2024-09-20", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "Senate", "NE", "Deb Fischer", "F000463", "www.fischer.senate.gov", "fischer", "https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, announced that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Nebraska\u2019s proposal for $405,281,070 in broadband deployment funding through the BEAD program.\n\nThe funding for this program was initially provided by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, which Senator Fischer supported. However, the Biden-Harris administration rejected Nebraska\u2019s earlier proposals to access this funding due to its own agency rules, which deviated from the law Congress passed. Those rejections, combined with a slow rollout at NTIA, delayed funding delivery.\n\nSenator Fischer has worked with NTIA and Nebraska\u2019s Broadband Office to facilitate better communication from the federal agency and ensure acceptance of the State\u2019s proposal, which was finally announced on Wednesday.\n\nUltimate release of funding to the state still depends on a final proposal that will detail the funding distribution process.\n\n\u201cAll Nebraskans need internet access, so I\u2019m very pleased that Nebraska\u2019s proposal for this broadband buildout funding has finally been accepted. I\u2019d like to thank Patrick Haggerty and the Nebraska Broadband Office for their hard work in reaching this milestone. I will continue to support the advancement of Nebraska\u2019s final proposal in the upcoming year so that we can finally bring this funding home,\u201d said Senator Fischer.\n\n\u201cThis is a historic federal investment for our state, and the Nebraska Broadband Office carefully gathered feedback statewide to draft this proposal. We are grateful for Senator Fischer\u2019s dedication to expanding broadband access for every Nebraskan, and we are confident that this proposal will achieve that shared goal,\u201d said Patrick Haggerty, State Broadband Director, Nebraska Broadband Office.\n\nBackground:\n\nDuring a Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing in May, Senator Fischer pressed Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo on NTIA\u2019s misguided rate regulation efforts, which caused the proposal rejections.\n\nSenator Fischer also joined her Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Vice President Kamala Harrisregarding her mismanagement of federal broadband initiatives, which President Biden specifically tasked her to manage.\n\nSenator Fischer also sent letters to NTIAand the Commerce Department voicing concerns with the Biden-Harris administration\u2019s additional barriers and hurdles to federal broadband deployment programs. The additional requirements not only went beyond Congress\u2019 direction, but also delayed internet services to unserved and underserved Americans.\n\nPermalink: https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2024/9/fischer-announces-advancement-of-nearly-half-billion-in-ne-broadband-funding", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:46:43Z"]], "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://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=C68942AA-7B23-4FDE-85BA-4765B07A057B"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7256329990923405, "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"}