USDA Secretary Perdue Announces Rural Broadband Initiative

(Washington, DC) – Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) issued the following statement after United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a new pilot program to offer up to $600 million in loans and grants to expand access to broadband connectivity in rural communities.

 

LaMalfa said: “Access to reliable broadband internet is something that many Americans take for granted, but in rural areas like Northern California, adequate connectivity can be sparse or even nonexistent. In my district, we have some counties that have no access to the minimum broadband standard of 25mbps download speed and 3mbps upload speed, as defined by the FCC. Adequate broadband access is absolutely critical for rural communities to thrive and prosper along with the rest of the developed world. Just as the federal government created initiatives to expand access to electricity at the turn of the twentieth century, the USDA is making a significant investment into a pilot program designed to do the same for broadband access today. I thank Secretary Perdue for his efforts to work with Congress and implement programs that will improve internet access in rural areas.”

 

Specifics of the program and its requirements, courtesy of the USDA, can be found here.

 

From left to right: Rep. Robert Aderholt, Rep. Roger Marshall, Secretary Sonny Perdue, Rep. Drew Ferguson, Rep. Bruce Poliquin, and Rep. Doug LaMalfa.

 

 

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