Senators urge USDA to fund broadband in ‘geographically challenged’ areas

Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) have joined a bipartisan group urging the Department of Agriculture to direct funding for broadband internet expansion to high-need rural areas. They urged the USDA to set aside part of a $600 million rural broadband fund for “geographically challenged” areas. They cited a Federal Communications Commission statistic that of the 24 million US households that do not have reliable, affordable, high-speed internet service, 80 percent are in rural areas. In addition to Sens. Collins and King, the letter was signed by Sens. Joe Manchin(D-WV),  Dean Heller (R-NV), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).