Continuing his support for expanding rural broadband access, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) on Nov. 20 participated in the grand opening of a new $12 million data storage center in his home state.
The Midco Tier III data center in North Dakota’s Red River Valley will provide secure data storage for numerous businesses and could help attract more companies to locate in the area, according to a statement released by Sen. Hoeven’s office.
“North Dakota has seen tremendous growth in its tech sector, and supporting technology entrepreneurship remains a top priority,” said Sen. Hoeven, chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. “We need IT infrastructure, like this data center, in order to meet the demands of modern industry.”
For instance, he said, the growing unmanned aerial systems (UAS) industry produces a significant amount of data – from inspections for crops, electrical lines or wind towers – that will need to be securely stored.
“We need to have the capacity to move that data through local networks, regardless of where the operations are taking place,” Sen. Hoeven said. “That’s why we’ve worked hard to expand our investments in rural broadband. These efforts will help ensure our state can continue to compete with anyone, anywhere in the world.”
Participating in the new data center’s opening continues Sen. Hoeven’s support for investments in information technology infrastructure in North Dakota.
For instance, in the Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, the lawmaker contributed to securing $600 million in fiscal year (FY) 2018 for a new loan and grant program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) aimed at sparking such investment, according to a statement from his office.
And Sen. Hoeven worked to ensure the Senate’s recently approved FY 2019 funding legislation included USDA and Food and Drug Administration funds for rural broadband programs, among others.
In addition, Sen. Hoeven last year sponsored the Move America Act of 2017, S. 1229, bipartisan legislation that he reintroduced with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) to provide tax credits and tax-exempt bonds toward enhancing the nation’s infrastructure, including rural broadband.
Earlier this year, Sen. Hoeven sponsored the Office of Rural Broadband Act, S. 2959, another bipartisan bill he introduced with U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) to create such an office at the Federal Communications Commission that would ensure coordination among federal agencies having jurisdiction over rural broadband. S. 2959, introduced on May 24, is under review by the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.