[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 23, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3011-H3012]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 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

[[Page H3012]]

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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