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1 1 (November 19, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveevy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Cogesoa Reeac Servlce 0 Updated November 19, 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Funding for USDA Rural Broadband Programs On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law (P.L. 117- 58). The act invests $1.2 trillion in the nation's infrastructure, including roads, highways, and electric, water, and railway systems. The act also invests in broadband (i.e., high-speed internet) infrastructure, including in rural areas where households have historically had lower access to broadband compared with households in urban and suburban areas. P.L. 117-58 includes funding for two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) broadband programs that serve rural communities: the ReConnect Program and the Rural Broadband Program. This is in addition to provisions that amend or provide funding to broadband programs administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This InFocus summarizes the provisions in the infrastructure act related to the ReConnect Program and the Rural Broadband Program. Program Overviews The ReConnect Program offers loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to help construct or improve facilities required to provide broadband access to rural areas. Eligible applicants include corporations, cooperatives, public entities, U.S. territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes. The program can also fund the acquisition or upgrade of an existing system not currently providing sufficient broadband access. The Rural Broadband Program offers loans to help construct, improve, or acquire facilities and equipment needed to provide broadband access to rural areas. Eligible applicants include corporations, cooperatives, public entities, U.S. territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes. Congress has also authorized the Rural Broadband Program to issue grants and loan guarantees (in recent years, Congress has appropriated funding only for direct loans). Although the programs are similar in mission, key distinctions include funding levels and how the programs define eligible service areas. In recent years, Congress has provided more funding for the ReConnect Program than for the Rural Broadband Program. As an example, Congress appropriated $550 million in FY2019, $655 million in FY2020, and $635 million in FY2021 for ReConnect Program grants and loan subsidies, and Congress appropriated $5.8 million in FY2019, $2 million in FY2020, and $2 million in FY2021 for Rural Broadband Program loan subsidies. Congress has provided a more restrictive definition of eligible service areas for the Rural Broadband Program than for the ReConnect Program. The definition for eligible service areas involves two parts: the minimum broadband speeds that constitute sufficient access and the percent of households that have access to broadband at those speeds. ReConnect defines eligible service areas as areas where at least 90% of households lack sufficient broadband access to broadband. Sufficient broadband access is defined as speeds of at least 100 megabits per second download and 20 megabits per second upload (i.e., 100/20 Mbps). The Rural Broadband Program defines eligible service areas as areas where at least 50% of households do not have sufficient broadband access. Sufficient broadband access is defined as speeds of at least 25/3 Mbps. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Funding Division J, Title I of P.L. 117-58 provides $2 billion for USDA broadband programs, to remain available until expended. This includes $1.926 billion for ReConnect Program grants and loans and $74 million for Rural Broadband Program loans. This funding exceeds FY2021 levels by $1.291 billion (+203%) for the ReConnect Program and by $72 million (+97%) for the Rural Broadband Program. The act allows up to 4% of the funding for both programs to be used for administrative costs (i.e., $80 million) and up to 3% of the funding to be used for technical assistance to potential applicants (i.e., $60 million). It also directs $5 million of the technical assistance funds to establish and support cooperatives to offer broadband service in rural areas. Additionally, the act directs USDA to collaborate with the FCC and the NTIA in awarding funding for broadband projects. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Requirements for ReConnect Projects The infrastructure act includes not only funding but also language that directs how USDA is to administer the ReConnect Program funding. These provisions do not apply to the Rural Broadband Program. The provisions focus on the ReConnect Program's definition for eligible service areas (i.e., percent of households without sufficient broadband access and the minimum speeds that constitute sufficient access). The next section describes the provisions included in the act and compares these provisions with the current law, current regulations governing the ReConnect Program (7 C.F.R. §1740), or recent funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) published in the Federal Register. ittps://Crsreports.congress.gt

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