USDA Releasing Over $700 Million to Improve Rural Internet Access
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
The USDA is offering $714 million in grants and loans to connect rural Americans to affordable, high-speed internet. The funds will benefit projects in 19 states says Mitch Landrieu, White House infrastructure coordinator.
Landrieu… “Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we're making unprecedented investments in our roads and our bridges, our airports, our ports, and perhaps most notably, in one of the most important investments is when making a $65 billion investment in America's high-speed internet infrastructure. Access to the internet is no longer a luxury. It's a necessity to fully-participate in today's society. You see, access to knowledge is the great equalizer, and the President wants to make sure that everyone has access to opportunity. And of course, with these investments, you want to level the playing field.”
Better broadband across rural America means more opportunities that would otherwise not be available, and Landrieu says, will benefit farmers directly.
Landreiu… “In agricultural communities, high-speed internet can transform farming practices, enabling farmers to use more-sustainable, data-driven approaches to precision agriculture. Farmers need fast, reliable service that allows them to send data up as fast as they receive it. And those are the kinds of networks we're rebuilding through the ReConnect program.”
Secretary Vilsack says USDA has invested in 142 ReConnect projects that improved high-speed internet access for 314,000 rural Americans. More information on investment resources for rural areas is available at rd.usda.gov.
