Investing in A New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of amendment No. 319 to H.R. 2.

The Moving America Forward Act includes a historic investment in high-speed broadband internet infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Whip Clyburn for his leadership on the Rural Broadband Task Force.

In central Virginia, like across so much of the country, we urgently need funding for broadband projects, particularly as COVID-19 lays bare the realities of the digital divide.

In our district, for example, I have spoken with teachers who, when schools closed, were unable to maintain contact with so many of their students because they simply cannot access the internet.

As we talk about making a significant investment in the future of high-speed internet, we need to take appropriate steps to ensure this new infrastructure meets the needs of the next generation of wireless technology.

For many years, the FCC has set the threshold for determining the speed at which areas are found to have sufficient broadband service. However, experts have indicated that the current speed threshold is outdated. My amendment would require the GAO to examine the efficacy of the FCC's process for updating its broadband speed threshold.

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Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Speaker, with this information, we can make better decisions about how to best update these thresholds. If we are going to keep our rural businesses, our farms, and our students competitive into the next century, we need to recognize that the broadband infrastructure we build must meet the need for faster downloads and uploads.

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