YourVoice.Now Summary
Average Household ImpactTransparency & AccountabilityExpands a federal rural broadband program to prioritize small ports and farmland, with new location-data and oversight rules.
Average Household Impact
- Rural broadband funding — New priority for service in rural ports and for precision agriculture on farmland and ranchland
Transparency & Accountability
- Buildout data requirement — Funding recipients must report precise location data on new broadband service
- Oversight set-aside — At least 1% of program funds reserved for oversight and accountability
The details
Many rural areas still lack reliable high-speed internet. This bill would update a federal rural broadband program to reach more of them, including small ports and farmland. It changes the Rural Electrification Act to add new funding priorities. Projects serving rural ports and precision agriculture on cropland and ranchland would move up the list. The government could cover up to 75% of costs in some hard-to-serve areas. Recipients would have to report exact location data on new service. The bill also sets aside at least 1% of funds for oversight and requires the Agriculture Department to verify which communities are truly unserved.
Congressional Summary
Broadband Internet for Small Ports ActThis bill establishes priority for broadband projects near rural maritime ports under the Department of Agriculture (USDA) rural broadband grant and loan program, and makes other specified changes to the program’s structure and available support. Under current law, the rural broadband program provides grants, loans, and loan guarantees for the construction, improvement, and acquisition of broadband facilities and equipment in rural areas. The bill adjusts the level of priority given to certain categories of projects, including through the establishment of a new priority for projects that would increase broadband service in ports and shore-side facilities in rural areas. The bill also makes changes to the program’s parameters, including by changing available grant amounts and increasing the percentage of households in a community that must be unserved or underserved with broadband in order for projects in the community to qualify for loans or loan guarantees. Further, as a condition of receiving support, recipients must share with USDA geolocation information on new or upgraded broadband service established under the program. For proposed projects given high priority, the bill requires USDA to confirm that the relevant communities are currently unserved by conferring with relevant federal agencies and other broadband service data sources, and by performing site-specific testing to verify the unavailability of residential broadband service. Finally, the bill requires USDA to provide feedback and decisions to applicants in a timely manner, and to use certain program funds for oversight and accountability measures.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-03-04
- Date Added
- 2026-07-21
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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