ReConnect

A bipartisan group of Senators recently introduced legislation to merge USDA broadband programs.  New Mexico Democrat Ben Ray Luján and South Dakota Republican John Thune reintroduced the Rural Internet Improvement Act.  The legislation would streamline and bolster USDA Rural Development broadband programs and ensure their funding is targeted to rural areas that need it the most.     "Our bip

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says his agency is providing $759 million to improve internet access for people living and working in 24 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Palau.  The investments include funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that provides $65 billion to help expand reliable, affordable, high-speed internet access to communities across the United States.   “...

On Thursday, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Department is awarding $502 million in loans and grants to provide high-speed internet access in 20 states.  The funding will be available for residents and businesses in rural America.  Vilsack...

On Thursday, the USDA awarded $502 million in loans and grants to provide high-speed internet access for rural residents and businesses in 20 states.  USDA is making the investments through the third funding round of the ReConnect Program.   ...

Rural broadband deployment won’t succeed in closing the “digital divide” unless the agencies handling billions of dollars in funding coordinate better.  That’s the collective sentiment of House Ag members.  Ag Chair David Scott said “effective communication” is the key to 100% rural broadband deployment using the historic Infrastructure and Jobs Act funding.   “And this is why we established proce

USDA’s Rural Development Undersecretary Xochitl Torres Small says the agency is extending the application deadline for funding under the ReConnect Program to March 9th. The funds are intended to expand high-speed internet access to millions of people across rural America. ...

The USDA says it’s begun accepting applications for up to $1.15 billion in loans and grants to help rural residents get access to high-speed internet. The announcement came shortly after the recently approved Bipartisan Infrastructure Law earmarked another $2 billion in additional funding for the ReConnect Program. ...

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says his agency is making funding available to bring a significant expansion of access to high-speed internet, health care, and educational services for millions of Americans. USDA has $1.15 billion available to help people in rural communities across the country get access to high-speed internet ...

On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Department of Agriculture is investing $167 million in 12 states to deploy broadband infrastructure. The investment focuses on rural areas without sufficient access to high-speed internet ...

USDA’s ReConnect program aims to ring broadband to all parts of rural America, and according to Ag Secretary, the program has already helped a variety of people across the country. "Since October of 2019, USDA through corporations have invested 744 million dollars in qualified organizations across 34 states," Perdue recently noted. He ...