McMorris Rodgers hosts federal officials in home state to discuss rural needs

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) last week hosted U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to discuss rural agricultural and broadband needs in Washington State.

“Everywhere I go in eastern Washington, one of the top concerns I hear about is the need for rural broadband,” Rep. McMorris Rodgers said. “It’s basic infrastructure in our 21st Century economy, and especially during this uncertain time, people need to have reliable Internet access at home.”

The congresswoman on June 11 also invited Pai to join eastern Washington’s Broadband Action Team meeting.

“As we work on the federal level to prioritize broadband resources, I’m so thankful to leaders here in eastern Washington, like the Broadband Action Team, who are working on the ground to connect our communities,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers. “I’m pleased that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was able to join today’s meeting to hear from local leaders directly about the great work they are doing and how the FCC and Congress can be effective partners.”

The lawmaker added that she looks “forward to continuing to work with local and federal leaders to get our community the resources we need to close the digital divide.”

Chairman Pai said that closing the digital divide is his top priority and he mentioned the FCC’s recent kickoff of a $16 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which will connect as many as 6 million American homes and businesses. “We want to focus on underserved areas of the country, and make sure the people here get the high-speed, high-quality broadband they deserve,” he said.

Also on June 11, Rep. McMorris Rodgers joined Secretary Perdue in Liberty Lake, Wash., for an event on the department’s Farmers to Families Food Box program, which was recently authorized under federal pandemic emergency relief funding to purchase food from farmers and utilize local resources to get food boxes directly to families in need.

The two visited Share Farm to see how the food boxes are helping meet an important need in eastern Washington. Nationwide the program already has distributed more than 10 million boxes of food to needy families.

In her discussions with Secretary Perdue, Rep. McMorris Rodgers also took the opportunity to advocate for the need to help wheat and potato growers in USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).