Blue Dogs Call for Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to Expand Broadband Internet Access

May 21, 2019 by Dan McCue
Blue Dogs Call for Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to Expand Broadband Internet Access
Giant rolls holding fiber optic cable are stored at a Lake Connections construction yard, waiting to be installed as a part of a broadband project in northern Minnesota, July 31, 2012. By the time the communications project is done in 2014 around 2000 miles of fiber optic cable will be strung, connecting customers with broadband internet, video and telephone service. (Bruce Bisping/Minneapolis Star Tribune/MCT)

Representatives Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., and Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., co-chairs of the Blue Dog Task Force on Infrastructure and Job Creation, joined with Representatives Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Xochitl Torres Small, D-N.M., their counterparts on the Blue Dog Task Force on Rural Opportunity, Tuesday to call for bipartisan legislation to expand high-speed broadband internet “to all corners of our nation.”

At the beginning of the 116th Congress, the Blue Dog Coalition was the first caucus to send a letter to Democratic leadership calling on them to prioritize infrastructure legislation.

In a joint op-ed in Fox News Opinion the representatives called on both parties to advance legislation that not only fixes our nation’s already-existing, crumbling infrastructure, but also expands broadband internet, particularly to rural and tribal communities.

“Throughout our history, both Republicans and Democrats have recognized that innovation spurs the need to expand new infrastructure to rural America, which has allowed our country to remain at the cutting edge of international competition,” the representatives wrote.

As examples, they cited President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s expansion of electricity to rural communities in the 1930s, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s signing of the Federal Aid-Highway Act in the 1950s, a decision that led to the construction of the nation’s interstate highway system.

“Our nation has reached another crossroad where innovation requires the expansion of a new form of infrastructure: high-speed broadband internet,” the representatives wrote.

A+
a-
  • broadband
  • infrastructure
  • U.S. Congress
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Infrastructure

    White House Is Distributing $5.8B From Infrastructure Law for Water Projects

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it is distributing another $5.8 billion for water infrastructure projects around the... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it is distributing another $5.8 billion for water infrastructure projects around the country, paid for by one of its key legislative victories. The new allocations will go to projects in all 50 states, bringing the total awarded to states... Read More

    States and Congress Wrestle With Cybersecurity at Water Utilities Amid Renewed Federal Warnings

    HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The tiny Aliquippa water authority in western Pennsylvania was perhaps the least-suspecting victim of an international... Read More

    HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The tiny Aliquippa water authority in western Pennsylvania was perhaps the least-suspecting victim of an international cyberattack. It had never had outside help in protecting its systems from a cyberattack, either at its existing plant that dates to the 1930s or the... Read More

    December 1, 2023
    by Tom Ramstack
    Inspector General Investigates Reports of Bias in New FBI Headquarters Choice

    WASHINGTON — A federal inspector general’s investigation is checking out reports that conflicts of interest might have influenced the choice... Read More

    WASHINGTON — A federal inspector general’s investigation is checking out reports that conflicts of interest might have influenced the choice last month of Greenbelt, Maryland, for the new FBI headquarters. Until the General Services Administration announced the 61-acre Greenbelt site on Nov. 8, a second site... Read More

    Biden to Convene New Supply Chain Council, Announce 30 Steps to Strengthen US Logistics

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday will convene the first meeting of his supply chain resilience council, using the event... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday will convene the first meeting of his supply chain resilience council, using the event to announce 30 actions to improve access to medicine and needed economic data and other programs tied to the production and shipment of goods. “We’re determined... Read More

    Top US Accident Investigator Says Close Calls Between Planes Show Aviation Is Under Stress

    The nation’s top accident investigator said Thursday that a surge in close calls between planes at U.S. airports this year... Read More

    The nation’s top accident investigator said Thursday that a surge in close calls between planes at U.S. airports this year is a "clear warning sign” that the aviation system is under stress. “While these events are incredibly rare, our safety system is showing clear signs of... Read More

    'Amtrak Joe' Biden Is Off to Delaware to Give Out $16B for Passenger Rail Projects

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden — perhaps the nation's biggest Amtrak fan — is set to promote new federal investments for... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden — perhaps the nation's biggest Amtrak fan — is set to promote new federal investments for trains on the heavily trafficked Northeast Corridor. The Democratic president is headed to Bear, Delaware, on Monday to announce more than $16 billion in new funding that... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top