House advances two Walden-supported bills to expand rural broadband

U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) commended his chamber’s recent approval of two bipartisan bills he cosponsored to expand and enhance rural broadband across America.

“The House passed two bipartisan bills that will help communities in places like rural Oregon get access to reliable, high-speed broadband,” Rep. Walden said.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 16 approved the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act, or the Broadband DATA Act, H.R. 4229, which would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to change the way broadband data is collected, verified and reported. Rep. Walden cosponsored H.R. 4229 with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. David Loebsack (D-IA) and 66 other cosponsors.

The House on the same day also passed the Mapping Accuracy Promotes Services (MAPS) Act, H.R. 4227, which would make it unlawful to willfully, knowingly or recklessly submit inaccurate broadband coverage information or mapping data to the FCC. Rep. Walden cosponsored H.R. 4227 with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA) and 47 other House cosponsors.

“The bills we passed … will help improve broadband mapping, which will enable us to better understand exactly where communities are that still lack high-speed internet access,” said Rep. Walden. “We need to know this before we make investments in broadband build-out so we get the help where it is needed. This effort will strengthen connectivity in America and help lessen the urban/rural digital divide.”

Both measures were sent to the U.S. Senate for consideration.