www.cassidy.senate.gov Open in urlscan Pro
2a02:26f0:6c00:28f::1e5  Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

GET /search

<form id="sitesearch" role="search" method="get" action="/search" class="pull-right form-inline">
  <input type="search" id="search-field" name="q" placeholder="Search">
  <input type="hidden" name="access" value="p">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_dt" value="i">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_epq" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_eq" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_lq" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_occt" value="any">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_oq" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_q" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_sitesearch" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="client" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="sntsp" value="0">
  <input type="hidden" name="filter" value="0">
  <input type="hidden" name="getfields" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="lr" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="num" value="15">
  <input type="hidden" name="numgm" value="3">
  <input type="hidden" name="oe" value="UTF8">
  <input type="hidden" name="output" value="xml_no_dtd">
  <input type="hidden" name="partialfields" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="proxycustom" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="proxyreload" value="0">
  <input type="hidden" name="proxystylesheet" value="default_frontend">
  <input type="hidden" name="requiredfields" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="sitesearch" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="sort" value="date:D:S:d1">
  <input type="hidden" name="start" value="0">
  <input type="hidden" name="ud" value="1">
  <button type="submit"><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-search"></span></button>
</form>

GET /search

<form aria-label="search" id="sitesearch" role="search" method="get" action="/search" class="form-inline">
  <input type="search" id="search-field" placeholder="Search">
  <input type="hidden" id="search-q" name="q" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="access" value="p">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_dt" value="i">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_epq" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_eq" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_lq" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_occt" value="any">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_oq" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_q" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_sitesearch" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="client" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="sntsp" value="0">
  <input type="hidden" name="filter" value="0">
  <input type="hidden" name="getfields" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="lr" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="num" value="15">
  <input type="hidden" name="numgm" value="3">
  <input type="hidden" name="oe" value="UTF8">
  <input type="hidden" name="output" value="xml_no_dtd">
  <input type="hidden" name="partialfields" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="proxycustom" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="proxyreload" value="0">
  <input type="hidden" name="proxystylesheet" value="default_frontend">
  <input type="hidden" name="requiredfields" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="sitesearch" value="">
  <input type="hidden" name="sort" value="date:D:S:d1">
  <input type="hidden" name="start" value="0">
  <input type="hidden" name="ud" value="1">
  <button aria-label="submit" type="submit"><span class="glyphicon glyphicon-search"></span></button>
</form>

Text Content

 
ALERT: Hurricane Ida Recovery Information
 
ALERT: Click Here: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Information, Benefits
for Louisiana
Skip to primary navigation Skip to content
×Close
 * About
   * About Bill
   * About Louisiana
   * Committee Assignments
 * Newsroom
   * Press Releases
   * Photo Gallery
   * Video Gallery
   * In the News
 * Priorities
   * Issues
   * Legislation
   * Senate Schedule
   * Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta Resources
 * Contact
   * Office Locations
   * Meeting Requests
 * Helping You
   * Help with a Federal Agency
   * Flag Requests
   * Visiting DC
   * Internships
   * Academy Nominations
   * Grants
   * Personal Greeting Request
   * Presidential Greetings
   * FY2022 CDS Requests
   * Louisiana Flooding Information

×Close

×Close
You are currently searching within the Cassidy, Manchin, Colleagues Urge for
Efficient Use of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Broadband Funds section.
Toggle navigation Search


BILL CASSIDY, M.D. UNITED STATES SENATOR FOR LOUISIANA

Contact

 1. Home
 2. Newsroom
 3. Press Releases

02.15.22


CASSIDY, MANCHIN, COLLEAGUES URGE FOR EFFICIENT USE OF BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE
BILL BROADBAND FUNDS

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) led
18 colleagues today urging the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) to implement broadband funding from the bipartisan
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in a timely manner according to
Congressional intent. Of the $65 billion allocated in Cassidy’s infrastructure
bill for broadband expansion, $48 billion will be implemented by the NTIA, using
coverage maps from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to maximize the
impact of the funds. IIJA provides a minimum of $100 million to every state to
expedite the planning process and to create state broadband offices to better
coordinate with local officials on what areas need coverage the most.

“As Senators representing small rural towns, large cities, and everything in
between, we know that local input will be key to effective
implementation,” wrote the senators. “In order to make sure the data we are
utilizing for these broadband projects is as accurate as possible, we [included]
a robust challenge process to give states and localities, as well as providers,
a voice in this process.”

“…We seek to impress upon NTIA the need to continue working with the FCC to move
quickly on updating the maps, as the impact of this investment is reliant on
their timely and accurate completion," continued the senators.

Cassidy and Manchin were joined by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Angus King
(I-ME), Rob Portman (R-OH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Richard
Burr (R-NC), Mark Warner (D-VA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jackie Rosen (D-NV),
Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Kelly
(D-AZ), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

Read the full letter here or below.

Dear Assistant Secretary Davidson:

We write to you today regarding your invitation for public comment on the new
broadband programs authorized and funded by the bipartisan Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, P.L. 117-58). Signed into law on November 15,
2021, this legislation represents the combined work of many of the bipartisan
group’s members, and we look forward to working with you to make our legislative
efforts a reality. Reliable highspeed internet is necessary for Americans to do
their jobs, fully participate in remote and in-school learning, connect and stay
connected to health care, and achieve their full potential in the 21st century
economy. The IIJA meets today’s connectivity challenges by delivering the most
comprehensive and ambitious broadband legislation ever passed by Congress—one
that will put high-speed accessible and affordable broadband within reach of all
Americans.

It all starts with getting the maps right. The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) has consistently overstated broadband coverage around the United States.
We represent states with significant areas that lack even the barest level of
service. That’s why, for the first time, we made clear that funding for
deploying broadband infrastructure must be contingent on updated maps by the
FCC. We know the Administration is eager to implement the IIJA, and so are we.
That’s why we seek to impress upon NTIA the need to continue working with the
FCC to move quickly on updating the maps, as the impact of this investment is
reliant on their timely and accurate completion. In order to make sure the data
we are utilizing for these broadband projects is as accurate as possible, we
also included a robust challenge process to give states and localities, as well
as providers, a voice in this process.

As Senators representing small rural towns, large cities, and everything in
between, we know that local input will be key to effective implementation. The
IIJA provides unprecedented levels of funding for broadband directly to states.
We knew in crafting these programs that this level of grant management would
require additional capacity across the board—from NTIA to city halls. That’s why
the law provides for a minimum allocation of $100 million to every state, a
portion of which can be used to kickstart a robust planning process and
technical assistance, allowing these funds to be used to stand up and build out
state broadband offices, promote state-local coordination, increase mapping
efforts, and improve the expertise and capacity at a local level. 

The IIJA requires states to prioritize unserved locations before spending that
money elsewhere, safeguarding responsible stewardship of Federal dollars and
making good on our longtime promise of universal service for the American
people. Importantly, the law also sets aside 10 percent of the overall funds to
give additional assistance to states with the highest costs of
deployment—whether that is to remote islands off the coast of Maine, tribal
nations in Nevada, or the National Radio Quiet Zone in West Virginia. We
recognized from the initial conversations around infrastructure that responsible
investments should provide a return on investment in our communities for
decades. That’s why we set forth a high level of service for participating
providers—including the requirement that local communities and participating
providers are contributing to the future viability of the networks deployed
through the program. 

There is no single answer to connectivity issues across a country as broad and
diverse as ours. That’s why the IIJA takes an “all of the above” approach to our
connectivity needs, remaining technology neutral while also including robust
speed thresholds and prioritizing networks that can meet our technology needs
well into the future. In much the same vein, this represents a careful
bipartisan balance that all providers—whether governmental, non-profit,
cooperative, or commercial—be held on equal footing. In order to help guide
states in making these decisions, the law lays out several interrelated metrics
for prioritizing projects, including deployment to high poverty areas, speeds of
proposed service, expediency with which a project can be completed, and a
demonstrated record of compliance with Federal employment laws.

For the first time in history, the IIJA ensures that we will know every location
in the nation without service, tie funding directly to helping those locations,
and require every state to have a plan in place to ensure that every American,
no matter how rich or poor, urban or rural, gets access to the affordable,
high-speed broadband that they need and deserve. As members of the bipartisan
group of Senators that helped author these provisions in the IIJA, we welcome
the chance to continue to work with you and your team on the task of
implementing these critical programs.

###

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 * Print
 * Email
 * 
 * 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Article Previous Article
 * About
 * Priorities
 * Helping You
 * Newsroom
 * Contact

 * Photo Credits
 * Privacy