[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 109 (Thursday, June 27, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4632-S4633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Jones):
  S. 2018. A bill to provide Federal matching funding for State-level 
broadband programs; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the American 
Broadband Buildout Act of 2019, or ABBA. This legislation would help 
ensure that rural Americans have access to broadband services at speeds 
they need to fully participate in the benefits of our modern society 
and economy regardless of whether they live in the largest cities or 
the smallest towns. I am delighted to be joined by my friend and 
colleague Senator Doug Jones in introducing this bill.
  Twenty-five years ago, when the internet was known as the World Wide 
Web, Americans typically accessed the web using their home phone lines 
via modems capable of downloading data at just 56 kilobits per second--
too slow even to support MP3-quality streaming music. Today, the 
threshold for broadband service as defined by the FCC allows downloads 
at speeds nearly 500 times faster--25 megabits per second. At these 
speeds, Americans not only can watch their favorite movies on demand in 
the comfort of their very own living rooms but can also participate in 
the global economy while working from home, upgrade their skills 
through online education, stay connected to their families as they age 
in place, and access healthcare through advances in telemedicine.
  While the increase in broadband speeds has been dramatic and is 
encouraging, these numbers mask a disparity between urban and rural 
Americans. Nearly all Americans living in urban areas have access to 
the internet at speeds that meet the FCC's broadband threshold, while 
one in four rural Americans does not.
  Similar disparities occur in terms of broadband adoption--the rate at 
which Americans subscribe to broadband service if they have access to 
it. According to the Pew Research Center survey last year, 22 percent 
of rural Americans don't use the internet at home, compared to just 8 
percent of urban Americans.
  The bipartisan bill that we are introducing would help close the 
digital divide between urban and rural America by directing the FCC to 
provide up to $5 billion in matching grants to assist States and State-
approved entities in building ``last-mile'' infrastructure to bring 
high-speed broadband directly to homes and businesses in areas that 
lack it. Let me briefly discuss a few key points about the bill that I 
would like to highlight.
  First, projects that receive funding must be located in unserved 
areas where broadband is unavailable at speeds that meet the FCC 
standards. Narrowing the focus to those areas will ensure that the 
money goes where it is needed most and will also protect against 
overbuilding where broadband infrastructure is already in place.
  Second--and this is important--the bill requires that this Federal 
funding be matched through public-private partnerships between the 
broadband service provider and the State in which the last-mile 
infrastructure project will be built. This means that States and their 
private sector partners will have ``skin in the game'' to balance the 
Federal commitment, ensuring that projects will be well thought out and 
designed to be sustainable.
  Third, the bill requires that projects be designed to be ``future 
proof,'' meaning that the infrastructure installed must be capable of 
delivering higher speeds as broadband accelerates in the future. This 
will ensure that Federal tax dollars are used to help build a network 
that serves rural Americans now and in the future without our having to 
rebuild it every time technology advances.
  Furthermore, the bill directs the FCC to prioritize the funding of 
projects in States that have traditionally lagged behind the national 
average in terms of broadband subscribers and are at risk of falling 
further behind as broadband speeds increase.
  Finally, the bill provides grants for states and state-designated 
entities for digital literacy and public awareness campaigns, 
highlighting the benefits and possibilities of broadband service and 
helping to attract employers to rural parts of our country in which 
broadband services are lacking and yet are essential for a business's 
success. The key reason to do this is to address the disparity in the 
adoption rates I have already mentioned, which will help drive down the 
costs of the service and make it more affordable for everyone.
  One broadband application that holds special promise for rural 
America is telemedicine. As a native of Aroostook County--the largest 
county by land area east of the Mississippi, with fewer than 70,000 
residents--I know how important healthcare is to the vitality and even 
to the survival of rural communities. Often, these communities struggle 
to attract and retain the physicians they need to ensure their having 
access to quality care for their citizens. Broadband can help to bridge 
this gap by enabling innovative healthcare delivery in these rural 
communities.
  In an example described to me in a recent letter, hospice workers at 
Northern Light Home Care and Hospice were able to use the internet and 
video technology to help support a patient who was living on an island 
off the coast of Maine--not as far as the seagull flies but hours away 
in travel time. Although the connection was very poor, the video 
enabled the hospice nurses to monitor the patient's symptoms and 
provide emotional support to her family. As the author of that letter, 
Lisa Harvey-McPherson, put it, ``Our hospice team could be doing so 
much more with video and telemonitoring technologies if Maine had 
better connectivity.''
  I ask unanimous consent that immediately following my remarks, this 
letter from Lisa Harvey-McPherson be printed in the Record.
  Mr. President, in closing, rural Americans deserve to enjoy the 
benefits of high-speed internet in the same way that urban Americans 
do, but a digital divide has arisen due to the simple fact that rural 
areas are more sparsely populated than urban ones and are therefore 
more expensive to serve. The bill that Senator Jones and I are 
introducing today would help to bridge this digital divide by funding 
future-proof broadband where it is needed most and giving a real boost 
to job creation in rural America.
  I urge my colleagues to support our bill.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                        Northern Light Health,

                                         Brewer, ME, May 13, 2019.
     Senator Susan Collins,
     Dirksen Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Collins: On behalf of Northern Light Health 
     member organizations and the patients we serve, I want to 
     thank you for your support for the need to advance health 
     care technology in Maine. Technology is an essential strategy 
     to increase access to health care services in rural Maine. 
     Northern Light Health is a technology leader in Maine 
     providing a variety of telehealth services including 
     cardiology, stroke, psychiatry, trauma, pediatric intensive 
     care and in-home telemonitoring services state wide. As we 
     work to expand opportunities for patients to receive health 
     care services through technology we consistently encounter 
     the challenge of inadequate (or absent) broad band capacity. 
     Northern Light Health member organizations compete nationally 
     to recruit specialists to Maine, technology is often the only 
     option to expand access to specialists in rural Maine.
       The following Northern Light Health examples highlight 
     technology opportunities

[[Page S4633]]

     and the need to increase broadband speed and capacity in 
     rural Maine.
       Our hospice program cared for a patient on an island off 
     Hancock County. Staff placed a tablet at the patient's home 
     and one with the hospice nurse. Because of the challenges of 
     Island travel, it took hours to get to the home to manage and 
     support the patient and her family. While the broadband 
     connection was very poor we were able to help with symptoms 
     and emotional support using video technology. Our hospice 
     team could be doing so much more with video and 
     telemonitoring technologies if Maine had better connectivity.
       At Northern Light AR Gould in Presque Isle, they are a 
     pilot site for the telehealth virtual walk-in clinic. Those 
     using the system within the pilot are amazed at the ease of 
     access to a provider to ask those easy questions that keep 
     patients out of the ED. If successful, in a broader roll-out, 
     patients in local communities will have access to walk-in 
     level care (colds, rashes, general health questions) without 
     leaving their home via technology. This is important given 
     the average age of the population and the difficulty of 
     traveling roads during the winter months in Aroostook County. 
     The barrier to fully expanding the telehealth virtual clinic 
     is broadband capacity.
       Broadband access is also a professional recruitment tool, 
     often provider spouses have difficulty finding meaningful 
     employment. Addressing rural broadband capacity will support 
     remote work.
       In Aroostook County we are also evaluating telepsychiatry 
     services for the regional nursing homes. This will 
     significantly increase access to psychiatry services which is 
     in clinical demand. Connectivity is a foundational component 
     of offering this service.
       Our electronic health record has expanded access to 
     individualized health information for our patients, 
     connectivity is a barrier to patients accessing this 
     important resource in rural Maine.
       As we increase our electronic health record capacity 
     providers are reliant on this technology as much as they are 
     reliant on clinical tools like a stethoscope. In areas with 
     broadband capacity challenges the providers spend time 
     looking at buffering symbols on their screens for long 
     periods of time in the day.
       We appreciate the opportunity to share these examples with 
     you and your staff as you explore Congressional solutions to 
     Maine's broadband challenge.
           Sincerely,
     Lisa Harvey-McPherson RN, MBA, MPPM,
       Vice President Government Relations.
                                 ______