Lawmakers Push for Full Funding of USDA Rural Broadband Programs

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) are joining 21 of their colleagues to push for full funding of the USDA rural broadband loan and grant program for Fiscal Year 2023. The 2018 Senate-passed Farm Bill increased the annual funding authorization level of the USDA broadband program to $350 million. Congress also authorized supplemental funding of $1.9 billion over 10 years for the ReConnect Pilot program in the Infrastructure Law, an extra $2 billion investment on USDA programs for expanding broadband in rural areas. Continue Reading