Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025
Floor Speech
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Mrs. HOUCHIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 98, the Rural Broadband Protection Act, a bill I authored and passed out of the House as H.R. 2399 and an issue I have long championed.
In April, we passed the House version of this bill. In June, the Senate passed the identical text, sponsored by my friend Senator Capito also by voice vote. Today, we have a chance to finish the job and send this legislation to the President's desk.
Across Indiana and rural America, families, farmers, students, and small business owners still struggle with slow and unreliable internet access, and it is more than an inconvenience. It is a barrier to opportunity, to education, to healthcare, and to economic growth.
When Congress invests in rural broadband, we have an obligation to make sure those dollars reach the communities they are meant to serve and that the providers that are receiving them are capable of getting the job done.
That is exactly what the Rural Broadband Protection Act does.
It directs the Federal Communications Commission to vet applicants for broadband funding based on their experience, their technical capability, and their demonstrated ability to deploy. It brings accountability and transparency to the grant review process, ensuring taxpayer dollars go to real, shovel-ready projects, not phantom providers or empty promises.
This is smart, bipartisan, commonsense legislation. It passed the Energy and Commerce Committee 51-1. It passed the House by a voice vote last April. It passed the Senate by voice in June.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Senator Capito for her leadership on the Senate side and my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee for moving this bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. Today, we have a chance to deliver a long-overdue win for rural America.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on S. 98. Let's get this bill to the President's desk where it can finally become law.
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