{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/on-rural-broadband-access-mccaskill-tells-communications-agency-to_deliver-on-our-nations-universal-service-promise-to-missourians", "On Rural Broadband Access, McCaskill Tells Communications Agency to  ‘deliver on our nation’s universal service promise to Missourians’", "2017-12-12", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Claire McCaskill", "M001170", "www.mccaskill.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "On Rural Broadband Access, McCaskill Tells Communications Agency to  \u2018deliver on our nation\u2019s universal service promise to Missourians\u2019 \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Senator urges safeguards in broadband auction to protect integrity of service in rural areas; As FCC prepares to award $1.98 billion for rural broadband, asks agency to prescreen applicants and prioritize proven technologies \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTuesday, December 12, 2017\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ensure broadband providers can deliver on rural service for Missourians, asking the agency to implement strong upfront oversight safeguards against waste and abuse as it prepares to award $1.98 billion in rural broadband funding next year.\r\n\u201c\u2026 More than 112,000 locations in rural Missouri are preliminarily eligible for universal service funding through the [Connect America Fund Phase II] auction,\u201d wrote McCaskill in a letter to the leadership of the FCC. \u201cThese unserved communities have been waiting years for broadband and the auction presents a unique opportunity to finally allow universal service funding to flow to these communities in Missouri.\u201d\r\nThe letter continues: \u201cI am concerned, however, that the Commission may fail to adopt sufficient safeguards in the auction. Absent adequate safeguards, the auction could not only fail to connect rural Missouri with broadband, but also risks introducing waste and fraud into the program\u2026 To protect the integrity of the program, I urge the commission to screen applicants to ensure they are both qualified to participate and have the ability to serve all unserved households in geographic areas where they are bidding with the applicable speed and capacity\u2026 Adopting these common sense safeguards should help ensure a fair auction and help to finally deliver on our nation\u2019s universal service promise to rural Missourians.\u201d\r\nNext year, the FCC is expected to move forward with a first-of-its kind reverse auction to award $198 million a year over 10 years, or $1.98 billion, in funding for broadband in unserved areas. The FCC is considering public comments as it finalizes the rules and procedures for the auction.\r\nMcCaskill, a longtime advocate for improving access to affordable, reliable forms of communication in small towns and rural communities, recently backed\u00a0bipartisan legislation\u00a0to ensure Missourians in rural communities receive reliable and affordable phone call quality. Additionally, McCaskill\u00a0introduced the\u00a0Community Broadband Act\u00a0to improve internet access in rural communities by protecting the rights of localities\u2014which often face significant cost and other barriers\u2014to build municipal broadband networks, and, along with fellow Missouri Senator Roy Blunt, has previously urged the FCC to move forward on its rural broadband auction without delay.\r\nThis fall, following a call from McCaskill for Verizon to reverse course on its plan to drop nearly 8,500 rural customers nationally\u2014including approximately 400 Missourians\u2014from access to wireless broadband service within 30 days, Verizon announced it will allow affected customers who want to stay with Verizon to do so after changing service plans, and allow more time for those who wish to leave the carrier altogether to do so.\r\nAnd this summer McCaskill held a\u00a0roundtable\u00a0with federal and local officials to discuss the importance of rural broadband. Currently, more than 60 percent of Missourians in rural areas do not have broadband access. Following the roundtable, she wrote to the FCC to express concerns about the auction rules that she heard directly from the Missouri electric cooperatives.\r\nFull text of letter HERE.\r\nVisit\u00a0mccaskill.senate.gov/rural\u00a0to learn more about McCaskill's fight to protect rural Missouri.\r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 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.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/on-rural-broadband-access-mccaskill-tells-communications-agency-to_deliver-on-our-nations-universal-service-promise-to-missourians"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6606259848922491, "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"}