Moolenaar, Huizenga offer bipartisan bill to save rural Americans money for buying hot spots

Rural Americans would receive a refundable tax credit for buying communications signal boosters under bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Reps. John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Bill Huizenga (R-MI).

The Broadening Online Opportunities through Simple Technologies (BOOST) Act, H.R. 6554, which Rep. Moolenaar sponsored on Dec. 1 with three original cosponsors, including Rep. Huizenga and U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), would allow families and residents in rural households to claim a $300 tax credit after purchasing a mobile hotspot to connect to the internet or a signal booster to increase their internet connection speeds, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

“My BOOST Act will ensure Michigan families can connect to the internet with their own hotspot or boost the internet speed they currently have,” Rep. Moolenaar said. “This bipartisan legislation will empower residents in rural areas who have been waiting far too long to have reliable internet in their homes. This is long overdue and will help families sooner rather than later.”

Under H.R. 6554, rural residents would be eligible for the tax break if their internet speeds do not meet the federal requirement of 25 megabits per second for downloading and three megabits per second for uploading, the summary says. 

“A critical lack of reliable connectivity still exists in portions of southwest Michigan,” said Rep. Huizenga. “As new buildouts continue and communities grow, we introduced the BOOST Act because families should be able to afford and access this available wireless technology to meet their daily needs until the buildouts reach them.”

The legislation, which is under consideration by the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, would define a qualified signal booster as any communications signal booster, any customer premises equipment for use with satellite networks, and any ground station equipment to send and receive transmissions from satellite networks for use by the taxpayer in a principal residence that is located in an unserved area, according to the text of H.R. 6554.

“Through legislation like this,” added Rep. Bishop, “we want to help close the gap in rural services and ensure everyone is able to take full advantage of digital resources and fully participate in the 21st century economy.”