Today, Congressman Mike McIntyre, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture, held a hearing to review Federal efforts to expand broadband access in rural areas.
The Subcommittee heard testimony from officials representing the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce, as well as from telecommunications companies and organizations.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service and the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration with $7.2 billion total to expand access to broadband services in the United States. The 2008 Farm Bill reauthorized the USDA broadband loan program and improved the criteria used by USDA to select broadband projects for loans, loan and grant combinations, and grants.
“Access to high speed broad Internet is vital to our everyday lives, providing access to job opportunities, education, medical care, and the global marketplace. Countless citizens in rural America are unable to access broadband despite a strong desire to receive the service," Subcommittee Chairman McIntyre said. “I appreciate the commitment made by Deputy Under Secretary Cook today to review the current definition of remote areas that qualify for USDA grant money, which is extremely limited and fails to adequately capture all the areas where no broadband access exists. I look forward to working with her to ensure that funds available to expand the reach of broadband get to the unserved rural areas where they are needed."
“The current economic climate places new and acute burdens on Rural America. This subcommittee has an obligation to ensure funds from the Stimulus package are being used to meet its purported goals," Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Conaway said. “Broadband has the potential to generate American jobs in rural America - not overseas. To achieve that goal, access must be affordable and accessible to people living in rural America. It’s important that the RUS and NTIA ensure that their definitions of rural and remote do not prevent broadband deployment to areas of most need."
Written testimony provided by the witnesses is available on the Committee website: http://democrats-agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html. A full transcript of the hearing will be posted on the Committee website at a later date.
Panel I
* Ms. Cheryl Cook, Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
** Accompanied by Mr. David Villano, Assistant Administrator, Telecommunications Programs, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
* Mr. Mark Seifert, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.
Panel II
* Mr. Delbert Wilson, General Manager, Hill Country Telephone Cooperative, on behalf of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, Ingram, Texas
* Mr. Walter B. McCormick, Jr., President and CEO, United States Telecom Association, Washington, D.C.
* Mr. Curt Stamp, President, Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, Washington, D.C.
* Mr. W. Tom Simmons, Senior Vice President of Public Policy, Midcontinent Communications, on behalf of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
* Mr. G. Edward Evans, Chairman and CEO, Stelera Wireless, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
http://democrats-agriculture.house.gov
Source: House Committee on Agriculture
