Strengthening Rural Broadband Program loans and grants to support increased broadband service to underserved rural communities.
Will strengthen Rural Broadband Program loans and grants to expand broadband service in underserved rural communities.
Occurrences
Evidence
Section 6104 amended the Rural Electrification Act broadband program to prioritize loans and loan guarantees for rural communities lacking minimum broadband service, require public application/recipient data, require recipient progress reports on new or improved broadband service, and extend the program through 2018.
The House Clerk records H.R. 2642 conference report as passed, 251-166, and lists Womack, Republican, Arkansas, voting Yea.
Section 6201 changed the RUS broadband authority from only loans and loan guarantees to grants, loans, and loan guarantees; it gave highest priority to unserved rural communities and set grant percentages tied to rural population density.
Section 6204 established the Community Connect Grant Program to finance broadband transmission in rural areas and authorized $50,000,000 for each fiscal year 2019 through 2023.
The House Clerk records the H.R. 2 conference report as passed, 369-47, and lists Womack, Republican, Arkansas, voting Yea.
Assessments
The promised outcome was to strengthen federal Rural Broadband Program loans and grants for underserved rural communities. Enacted farm bill provisions in 2014 strengthened USDA/RUS rural broadband loan and loan-guarantee targeting, transparency, and reporting, and the 2018 farm bill expanded RUS broadband authority to include grants and codified/authorized rural broadband grant funding. Womack was a sitting U.S. Representative and voted for the final conference reports that enacted these provisions, giving him federal legislative credit for supporting passage. Because the delivery occurred in later congressional terms rather than the initial campaign term, timing is later_term.