Kinzinger, House caucus urge rural broadband funds prioritized in U.S. infrastructure plan

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and his five fellow co-chairs of the bipartisan House Rural Broadband Caucus seek assurance from President Donald Trump that dedicated funds for rural broadband service are prioritized in the administration’s upcoming national infrastructure plan.

“We are concerned about recent reports that your forthcoming proposal may not include investments in rural broadband connectivity,” the lawmakers wrote in a Jan. 23 letter to Trump, reiterating their “support for the proposal to include funding specifically for rural broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas.”

High-speed internet access is vital to guaranteeing that America’s rural residents are participants in the interconnected world, wrote Kinzinger along with U.S. Reps. Peter Welch (D-VT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Dave Loebsack (D-IA), and Bob Latta (R-OH).

However, the digital divide remains significant between rural and urban America, according to the lawmakers. More than half of all rural residents in the United States don’t have standard access as determined by the Federal Communications Commission, which in 2015 updated its broadband benchmarks and then determined that 55 million Americans lacked advanced broadband access based on those new standards.

The situation demands a purposeful and targeted response to ensure U.S. rural residents have access to the same options provided to others across the country who have high-speed internet access, the members wrote.

For instance, federal investments in rural broadband infrastructure will enable communities to “attract and retain businesses and human resources, close the homework gap for students and teachers, open innovation and convenient pathways to telemedicine for seniors and providers, and help farmers increase efficiencies in their barns and on their lands,” according to the letter.

The lawmakers underscored the acute need for reliable broadband connectivity that is on par with urban communities by adding, “The future wellbeing of our communities is dependent upon this technology.”

The caucus co-chairs shared their appreciation that the administration has supported efforts to simplify and incentivize broadband technology deployment in rural areas and added that they wanted to keep working with the administration “to deliver the promise” that broadband service would offer rural communities.

“However, we also encourage the inclusion of connectivity investments in your infrastructure proposal,” they wrote.