In support of Ohio applicants, Brown urges USDA Sec. Vilsack, Commerce Sec. Locke to invest in Ohio communities through recovery

Washington, D.C. –U.S Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today wrote to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke urging their support for Ohio applicants to the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and the Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP), which will invest more than $7 billion to provide un served and underserved communities with broadband access. Brown led the fight in Congress alongside Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to include funding to expand broadband access.

“Broadband access is a matter of equal opportunity,” Brown wrote in his letter to Sec. Vilsack and Sec. Locke. “In terms of the future economic prosperity of Ohio’s communities, broadband infrastructure is currently a limiting factor when it could be an engine of development and job creation.” The full contents of Brown’s letter can be found HERE.