Senate Clears Agriculture Bill With $109 Million for Rural Broadband

The Senate voted 60-40 on November 10 to pass a continuing resolution that would reopen the government, plus some appropriations bills. One of the pieces of legislation would provide about $109 million for rural broadband programs. The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ReConnect program would see $50,750,000 of that. The bill would direct the funding to rural areas in which at least 90 percent of households lack access to speeds of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload, provided there isn’t an existing state or federally funded deployment already planned. Recipient internet service providers would have to deploy 100/20 Mbps. Another $40,767,000 would be made available for distance learning and telemedicine grants, also managed by the USDA.