[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 159 (Tuesday, September 15, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H4416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       EXPANDING RURAL BROADBAND

  (Mr. BUDD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, much of our lives has 
been forced online. Our children are learning remotely. Our businesses 
are conducted through webcams. Even Sunday church services are now 
live-streamed on Facebook.
  For the estimated 500,000 North Carolinians who lack dependable 
internet access, these temporary changes have been debilitating.
  Making sure rural families have quality internet access is a top 
priority for me, Mr. Speaker. That is why I sponsored the RURAL Act, 
which is now the law of the land. It helps ensure that rural telephone 
and electric co-ops have more dollars for broadband investment.
  No one in our district should have their level of internet access 
determined by their ZIP Code, and I am going to keep fighting for 
broadband access across all of our rural communities.

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