Save the Internet Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my commonsense broadband mapping amendment to H.R. 1644, the Save the Internet Act of 2019.

The digital gap between our rural and urban communities is real, and I hear about it from the people I serve every day.

According to the FCC's 2018 Broadband Deployment Report, more than 30 percent of rural Americans lack access to high-speed fixed broadband, compared to only 2 percent of urban Americans. This disparity has long- term implications for the economic strength and security of our country.

In rural America, a lack of reliable broadband internet makes it harder for businesses to find customers and attract new employees. Without reliable broadband internet, communities across this country face challenges attracting new businesses and investment.

In rural America, farmers have a tougher time using the latest precision agriculture technology, and in places without reliable broadband internet, kids find it difficult to complete their homework assignments.

In our district in central Virginia, farmers and producers are disadvantaged because the lack of broadband makes doing business harder. In our district, constituents drive their kids to McDonald's or to neighboring counties so that they can complete their research projects for school. And what is happening in our district is happening nationwide.

Today, we are considering a critical piece of legislation to champion the idea of a free and open internet.

There is no question that rural broadband internet access should be a part of this conversation, as this bill would also include a provision to restore the FCC's authority to fund the expansion of broadband access across our rural communities. But right now, there are many questions surrounding the accuracy of the FCC's broadband internet maps, which detail which areas in the United States have high-speed internet coverage and which do not.

These maps have important implications for our rural communities, schools, and businesses. These maps are used to award funding and subsidies to expand broadband coverage to areas that don't have it, and, in many cases, these efforts have led to great success.

However, these maps have been found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unreliable. Often a map will claim an entire area is covered by high- speed broadband when, in reality, only a small portion of that area has reliable coverage.

This trend should not be the status quo in our digital age because it leaves so many rural families underserved. Areas where the FCC's maps incorrectly say there is high-speed rural broadband connectivity are often ineligible for funding to expand broadband, and these inaccuracies greatly disadvantage our rural communities.

Erroneous information in these maps could be the difference between a senior citizen being able to access lifesaving telemedicine services or not; it could be the difference between a farmer who can keep up with market fluctuations halfway across the world or not; and it could control the ability of a young, aspiring student to access online information, college applications, and research materials.

My amendment to the Save the Internet Act would address a lack of reliable broadband internet connectivity in our rural communities, and it would begin to fix the errors in our current broadband maps.

My amendment would require the Government Accountability Office to produce a full report that examines the accuracy and quality of the FCC's broadband mapping. This report would also identify what the FCC should do to produce more accurate, reliable, and high-quality maps.

Additionally, the GAO report required by my amendment would help identify the scope of the broadband mapping problem and actually suggest solutions. With this new information, the FCC would be better able to update its maps so that we can properly target our broadband expansion efforts to the rural towns, townships, and communities across our district.

Better maps of broadband coverage are a critical first step toward getting high-speed internet to every household, something we should aim to do in our globalized, digitally-focused economy. As we are having important discussions about protecting and expanding reliable access to the internet, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to H.R. 1644.

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Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

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Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Michael F. Doyle).

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Chair, I would say to my friend, I think what we are trying to do in these two amendments is, we need the FCC to get on this as soon as possible, but we need the GAO to continue to look at this. But I understand what the gentleman is saying.

Look, we know these maps are wrong. I mean, nobody is arguing about that, and it is unacceptable. What the gentlewoman's amendment would do is ask the GAO to do a report to examine the current mapping processes for both wireless and wired line services.

They would also be asked to identify what FCC programs and actions rely on maps and to make recommendations on how the FCC could produce more reliable maps.

I think this is an important amendment. I support it, and I urge all my colleagues to support it also.

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Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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