House Committee on Agriculture: Subcommittee examines federal rural broadband program i8mplementation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Mike McIntyre, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture, held a hearing to review the progress made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce to award grants to expand broadband access in rural areas.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with $7.2 billion to expand access to broadband services. Currently, RUS and NTIA are reviewing applications for these funds...