{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/collins-king-join-bipartisan-group-urging-usda-to-direct-broadband-funding-to-high-need-rural-areas-", "Collins, King Join Bipartisan Group Urging USDA to Direct Broadband Funding to High-Need Rural Areas", "2018-10-02", "2018", "2018-10", "Independent", "House", "ME", "Angus King", "K000383", "www.king.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, DC  U.S. Senators Susan Collins\r\n(R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine), a founder and co-chair of the Senate\r\nBroadband Caucus, joined a bipartisan group of colleagues to urge the U.S.\r\nDepartment of Agriculture (USDA) to designate a funding carve out within the\r\n$600 million rural broadband e-Connectivity Pilot Program established in the\r\nMarch 2018 omnibus appropriations bill. The senators urged the USDA to work\r\nwith states to determine eligible areas for a funding set aside within the\r\ntotal amount in the e-Connectivity program specifically to reach the high cost,\r\nrural and geographically challenged areas of the country that need it most.\r\nAccording to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), of the 24 million\r\nAmerican households that do not have reliable, affordable, high-speed internet,\r\n80 percent are located in rural areas.   As you know, rural America is\r\nlargely at a disadvantage for broadband deployment as a result of low\r\npopulation density, which makes these areas less attractive to the average\r\nbroadband provider looking for a large return on investment, the Senators\r\nwrote. Certain areas, however, face even bigger obstacles to deployment\r\nbecause of their challenging topography. Mountains and valleys, desert\r\nterrain, working forests, islands, remote coastal areas and ribbons of winding\r\nroads are central to the identity of the communities we represent, and their\r\nbeauty is what draws people to visit from around the world.\r\nUnfortunately, these same natural features make it far more expensive to\r\nconstruct critical broadband infrastructure. For example, during the first\r\nphase of the Mobility Fund, the average cost of Auction 901 greenfield sites\r\nconstructed by U.S. Cellular in West Virginia came in at about $1.2 million,\r\nthree times more expensive than flatter, easier to serve states like Oklahoma\r\nwhich only had an average cost of about $400,000.  With the additional effort and\r\nhigher costs associated with this difficult and remote terrain, it is clear why\r\nproviders would choose to avoid broadband deployment in high cost,\r\ngeographically challenging areas, the Senators continued. Many of our\r\nstates must absorb these high costs and invest their own resources into\r\nbuilding out broadband infrastructure in hopes of reducing the financial\r\nbarriers to attracting private partners, but they cannot afford to do it\r\nalone. We need a federal partner that understands these unique challenges\r\nour states face when trying to expand broadband service and we ask that USDA\r\nconsult with states to create a high-cost definition that accurately reflects\r\nthe significant additional costs associated with deploying broadband in these\r\nareas so that our states can effectively compete for grant funding with other\r\nstates that can build out for pennies on the dollar. We strongly\r\nencourage you to address this disparity and ensure our states have a fair shot\r\nat this funding by establishing a reasonable set aside within this $600 million\r\nallocation for high-cost, hard to serve areas like the places we represent.  In addition to Senators Collins and\r\nKing, the letter was signed by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Dean Heller\r\n(R-Nev.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va), Maggie Hassan\r\n(D-N.H.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). The full text of the letter is\r\navailable here and below. +++  Dear Secretary Perdue,  As the U.S. Department of\r\nAgriculture (USDA) begins to develop the new e-Connectivity Pilot Program\r\nestablished in the Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 115-141), we\r\nappreciate this opportunity to share our perspective on what needs to be done\r\nto ensure this program is a success. We were proud to help lead the\r\nbipartisan effort to dedicate $600 million for this program, but we remain\r\nconcerned that  absent a dedicated high cost set aside  these funds will fail\r\nto reach the rural, geographically challenging areas of the country that need\r\nit most.  A child should never have to sit\r\noutside their school or neighborhood library in order to get online and do\r\ntheir homework. No working adult should have to choose between living\r\nnear their family and friends and having gainful employment because they cannot\r\nget an adequate internet connection where they live. A state should never\r\nhave to fear being under-represented in the upcoming Census because they do not\r\nhave the broadband infrastructure for their citizenry to fully participate in\r\nthe increasingly important online portions of it. Unfortunately, while we\r\nknow these things should never happen, we know that they do. Our states\r\ndeal with these and the other negative consequences that accompany a lack of\r\nreliable broadband access day after day. The longer this issue persists,\r\nthe further we will fall behind, making it impossible to participate in a 21stcentury\r\neconomy.  According to the Federal\r\nCommunications Commission (FCC), of the 24 million American households that do\r\nnot have reliable, affordable, high-speed internet, 80 percent are located in\r\nrural areas. For far too long, our states have been on the wrong side of\r\nthe digital divide. We are hopeful that the USDA's new pilot program will help\r\nour children have the tools they need to finish their school work, assist our\r\nstates in attracting new residents and businesses, support seniors aging in\r\nplace, strengthen digital literacy and inclusion, and ensure our communities\r\nare receiving their fair share of federal funding for important services like\r\nhealthcare and telemedicine, job training, education and distance learning,\r\ntourism, and connectivity that supports rural economic development.  As you know, rural America is\r\nlargely at a disadvantage for broadband deployment as a result of low\r\npopulation density, which makes these areas less attractive to the average\r\nbroadband provider looking for a large return on investment. Certain\r\nareas, however, face even bigger obstacles to deployment because of their challenging\r\ntopography. Mountains and valleys, desert terrain, working forests,\r\nislands, remote coastal areas and ribbons of winding roads are central to the\r\nidentity of the communities we represent, and their beauty is what draws people\r\nto visit from around the world. Unfortunately, these same natural\r\nfeatures make it far more expensive to construct critical broadband\r\ninfrastructure. For example, during the first phase of the Mobility Fund,\r\nthe average cost of Auction 901 greenfield sites constructed by U.S. Cellular\r\nin West Virginia came in at about $1.2 million, three times more expensive than\r\nflatter, easier to serve states like Oklahoma which only had an average cost of\r\nabout $400,000.   With the additional effort and\r\nhigher costs associated with this difficult and remote terrain, it is clear why\r\nproviders would choose to avoid broadband deployment in high cost,\r\ngeographically challenging areas. Many of our states must absorb these\r\nhigh costs and invest their own resources into building out broadband infrastructure\r\nin hopes of reducing the financial barriers to attracting private partners, but\r\nthey cannot afford to do it alone. We need a federal partner that\r\nunderstands these unique challenges our states face when trying to expand\r\nbroadband service and we ask that USDA consult with states to create a\r\nhigh-cost definition that accurately reflects the significant additional\r\ncosts associated with deploying broadband in these areas so that our states can\r\neffectively compete for grant funding with other states that can build out for\r\npennies on the dollar. We strongly encourage you to address this\r\ndisparity and ensure our states have a fair shot at this funding by\r\nestablishing a reasonable set aside within this $600 million allocation for\r\nhigh-cost, hard to serve areas like the places we represent.  Once considered a luxury, access to\r\nthe internet has now become a critical lifeline to society and the future of\r\nour economy. We need your help to ensure that all Americans, no matter their\r\narea code, have access to a high-speed, reliable internet connection. We\r\nthank you for carefully considering this request and look forward to working\r\ntogether to ensure that this program helps those that need it most.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/collins-king-join-bipartisan-group-urging-usda-to-direct-broadband-funding-to-high-need-rural-areas-"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.692474354058504, "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"}