Rural Development (USDA )

Does federal money for rural broadband change the economies of the places that receive it? Any answer rests on a comparison between funded places and unfunded ones, and the unfunded side of that comparison is this paper’s subject.

Since 2020, Congress has steered tens of billions of dollars, including more than $50 billion from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, through federal agencies to connect homes and businesses that lack high-speed internet access. Four agencies account for most of that money: the Federal Communications Commission, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Department of the Treasury.

Rep Richard Hudson (R-NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, led a markup of six bills to strengthen communications networks and modernize satellite regulations. 

• H.R. 8255, the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act, was forwarded to the Full Committee.

• H.R. 9129, the GUARD Act, was forwarded to the Full Committee.

The House overwhelmingly passed a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month, sending it to President Trump’s desk and punting a spending fight until after the midterm elections. The legislation includes language temporarily blocking the White House budget office from carrying out a proposed rule that would allow the administration to cancel grants to recipients that do not conform to Trump’s political views and enable his team to steer significant funding to causes and organizations aligned with him.

Recently released records show that the Biden administration’s heavy fiber focus for broadband deployment was extraordinarily costly to taxpayers. Obtained by the Taxpayers Protection Alliance Foundation through a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins officially swore in Glen R. Smith of Atlantic (IA) as U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development. Glen took his oath of office at a ceremony at the Iowa State Fair. Smith was born and raised in Iowa and has been farming for over 50 years, growing soy, corn, and hay. He also founded Smith Land Service Co., an ag service company specializing in farm management, land appraisal, and farm brokerage. He most recently served on the Farm Credit Administration Board of Directors from 2019-2022. 

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins applauds the Senate confirmation of Glen R. Smith of Atlantic, Iowa, as U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development. This reaffirms the Trump Administration’s commitment to rural America and the farmers, small towns, and rural communities. “Rural America is the backbone of this nation, and under President Trump, USDA is committed to ensuring our rural communities have the infrastructure, resources, and opportunity they need to thrive,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AK) held a markup hearing on his version of the Farm Bill on Thursday, August 6. It didn’t go very well. In the long-delayed milestone meeting—which could ultimately reshape Rural Americans connections to the Internet—Republicans were unable to move their bill forward. Democrats held together, and the absence of two GOP senators, Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), meant the measure failed on a 10-11 vote.

From 2020 through 2024, Congress appropriated over $82 billion to programs across multiple agencies to expand broadband access. In a number of reports in recent years, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Congress’s watchdog that investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars, recommended that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration better communicate the financial sustainability of broadband projects to Congress and improve collaboration with the other federal agencies that fund broadband deployment.

The White House in late May proposed a rule that would cement its control over essentially all federal grant making, including research funding and Education Department grants. Among other changes, the proposal from the Office of Management and Budget says political appointees, not peer reviewers, would be the primary deciders of who gets grants, and says officials could yank funding even after it’s