The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE NEED FOR BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, this April, the House Agriculture Committee hosted an important hearing on one of America's most pressing issues, broadband connectivity.
For years, the digital divide has left many Americans unable to access reliable high-speed internet service, resulting in lost opportunities to expand businesses, learn new skills, or even participate in daily activities.
I see this cost and frustration every day. I am fortunate to live in the service territory of a rural electric cooperative which offers quality internet services to my home. But, just a few miles away, my neighbors are on the wrong side of the digital divide.
I represent 14 counties in rural Pennsylvania, and I can tell you, it is like this all across my district, with digital haves and have-nots just down the road from one another. It is a checkerboard of connectivity.
In the height of the pandemic, I heard one too many home-schooling horror stories that were a result of not having reliable access to the internet. A number of families were driving to the nearest local library, sitting in the parking lot, and connecting to the public WiFi in hopes of completing assignments.
COVID-19 laid bare the urgency of rural broadband, but the connectivity struggles in rural communities predate this pandemic, and they will not ease as we return to normal. As more of American life is being put online, more of it is being put out of reach of Americans without high-speed internet access, and those without are falling further behind.
Despite years of efforts and billions of dollars spent, too many communities are being left behind.
Broadband is not just needed for our homes; it is desperately needed on our farms as well. The demands of a 21st century farm economy depends on reliable connectivity.
The Agriculture Committee has done tremendous work on a bipartisan basis to address the digital divide, most recently with the broadband provisions in the 2018 farm bill. Those changes reflected 2 years of work to develop policies and design programs which meet the unique challenges of rural communities. That farm bill became law with broad bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate.
Unfortunately, those policies and programs are languishing. Changes and improvements championed by Members of both parties regarding eligible areas, long-term network viability, assistance for our most rural communities, program integrity, and more, remain unfunded and unimplemented more than 2 years after they were signed into law.
This is unacceptable. That is why I recently introduced the Broadband for Rural America Act. This bill is the responsible path forward to bridging the digital divide. It prioritizes the needs of rural communities and is a step in the right direction as we begin to rebound into a resurgent post-COVID economy. I urge my colleagues to join me on this critical piece of legislation.
The one issue that unites rural Members on both sides of the aisle is the need to address the digital divide. This critical infrastructure void has been exacerbated by the challenges faced by rural families and businesses during the pandemic.
I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to tell the story of the 2018 farm bill and the improvements we made and continue to fight for broadband investments so desperately needed in our rural communities.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 109
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