[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 74 (Friday, May 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5695-S5696]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. 
        Murray, and Mr.Wellstone):
  S. 966. A bill to amend the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration Organization Act to encourage deployment of 
broadband service to rural America; to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, today I rise, along with Senator Daschle, 
Senator Johnson, Senator Murray, and Senator Wellstone to introduce the 
Rural Broadband Enhancement Act to deploy broadband technology to rural 
America. As the demand for high speed Internet access grows, numerous 
companies are responding in areas of dense population. While urban 
America is quickly gaining high speed access, rural America is, once 
again, being left behind. Ensuring that all Americans have the 
technological capability is essential in this digital age. It is not

[[Page S5696]]

only an issue of fairness, but it is also an issue of economic 
survival.
  To remedy the gap between urban and rural America, this legislation 
gives new authority to the Rural Utilities Service in consultation with 
NTIA to make low interest loans to companies that are deploying 
broadband technology to rural America. Loans are made on a company 
neutral and a technology neutral basis so that companies that want to 
serve these areas can do so by employing technology that is best suited 
to a particular area. Without this program, market forces will pass by 
much of America, and that is unacceptable.
  This issue is not a new one. When we were faced with electrifying all 
of the country, we enacted the Rural Electrification Act. When 
telephone service was only being provided to well-populated 
communities, we expanded the Rural Electrification Act and created the 
Rural Utilities Service to oversee rural telephone deployment. The 
equitable deployment of broadband services is only the next step in 
keeping America connected, and our legislation would ensure that.
  If we fail to act, rural America will be left behind once again. As 
the economy moves further and further towards online transactions and 
communications, rural America must be able to participate. 
Historically, our economy has been defined by geography, and we in 
Congress were powerless to do anything about it. Where there were 
ports, towns and businesses got their start. Where there were railroad 
tracks, towns and businesses grew up around them. The highway system 
brought the same evolution.
  But the Internet is changing all of that. No longer must economic 
growth be defined by geographic fiat. Telecommunications industries and 
policy-makers are proclaiming, ``Distance is dead!'' But, that's not 
quite right: Distance will be dead, only as long as Congress ensures 
that broadband services are available to all parts of America, urban 
and rural.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues colleagues to pass this 
legislation and give rural America a fair chance to survive.
                                 ______