Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GUEST. Madam Speaker, I would first like to thank Ranking Member Graves for his leadership on this important piece of legislation that would eliminate hurdles and leverage Economic Development Administration dollars to invest in broadband deployment across America's rural communities.

By utilizing public-private partnerships and consortia between internet service providers and economic development agencies, EDA dollars could be leveraged to deploy broadband and spur modern economic development for rural and economically distressed communities.

Many of these consortia exist within the private sector, including many large corporations working to deploy broadband across vast rural areas. However, EDA funds have been held back from small towns and communities working to attract private investment in their communities. The E-BRIDGE Act would directly respond to the needs of these communities and provide flexibility to leverage in-kind services and other Federal resources.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the necessity of the internet in our lives and the need to close the digital divide that exists between rural and urban areas. This bill is supported by The App Association, American Farm Bureau, and the National Association of Development Organizations.

I appreciate the chairman and ranking member for bringing this legislation to the floor, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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