NRECA calls for a portion of $10 billion in infrastructure go to rural broadband

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) send letters to both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees asking for a portion of the $10 billion for infrastructure in the just announced budget agreement, for the FY18 Omnibus bill and FY19 spending bill still being developed, to be designated for rural broadband. Specifically, NRECA requested that at least $2.5 billion of those funds dedicated to rural broadband, and to fund that effort through the US Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service, using a “level playing field” approach that would ensure electric cooperatives, and a broad range of others, could access the funding.