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Senator Amy Klobuchar Discusses Importance of Broadband Access in Rural America

Klobuchar joined Senate Leaders in Addressing Bush Budget Shortfalls for Rural America

February 9, 2007

(Washington, D.C.) U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar today joined her Senate colleagues in discussing the shortfalls of President's budget for the rural parts of the country. Klobuchar specifically discussed the importance of broadband and internet access for Minnesota's communities. The president's budget proposes cutting mandatory broadband assistance loans by $203 million, from $503 million in 2007 to $300 million in Fiscal Year 2008.

"I've always said that kids that grow up in rural America should be able to live and work in rural America. Broadband is critical for that to happen," said Klobuchar. "Franklin Delano Roosevelt brought us rural electrification, Dwight Eisenhower brought us the interstate highway system, and it is our job to bring broadband to all corners of this country."

Klobuchar also said that in recent reports, there have been strong signs of a persistent urban-rural digital divide. In May 2006, the GAO reported that broadband connection rates are 70% higher in urban and suburban areas than in rural areas. A 2006 Pew study found a similar divide. Only 25% of rural Minnesota households report connecting to the Internet with a broadband connection.

Senator Klobuchar joined Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Blanche Lincoln (D-AK), Ken Salazar (D-CO), and Jon Tester (D-MO) in releasing a Rural Report Card on the president's budget accessible online here: http://democrats.senate.gov/dpc/dpc-new.cfm?doc_name=sr-110-1-25