Press Room: Press Releases

By Senator Jay Rockefeller

 

In recent months I have been given the honor of serving you as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. In this role I have continued my fight for extending high-speed Internet to every pocket of our state.  Our network is growing, but we still have work to do.

 

I believe – and I know – that broadband access links people to so many possibilities.  It helps small businesses grow, creates jobs, helps our students learn, and improves access to health care.  Expanding high-speed Internet will create badly-needed, high-tech jobs and jumpstart new economic growth: precisely the type of long-term investment we sought to make with the Recovery Act.  And that’s why I worked so hard to make sure broadband funding was part of our economic recovery plan.

 

I developed a $4.7 billion program at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), by working with President Obama and Senate appropriators, to improve broadband deployment - to deploy infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, expand public computer center capacity, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.  The Recovery Act provided a total of $7.2 billion for broadband expansion – $4.7 billion to the Commerce Department’s NTIA; and $2.5 billion to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to invest in broadband deployment. 

 

This is a step toward addressing the country’s broadband needs. The Recovery Act also directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to develop a national broadband plan by next February. Simply put – every household in West Virginia, no matter how rural, absolutely must have access to high-speed broadband and we need the best minds in government and the private sector to focus on making this a reality. 

 

Vice President Joe Biden recently announced the release of $4 billion nationwide – of the total $7.2 billion – in grants and loans.  And the NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP)along with the RUS’s Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) has been holding funding workshops around the country to help qualified entities learn how to apply.  Those groups include state and local governments, non-profit organizations, and for-profit businesses.

 

I am extremely proud to report that one of those workshops took place in Charleston, and while I could not be there in person, I did send a video message encouraging everyone to learn how they could take advantage of these important opportunities.  If you want more information about broadband funding in the Recovery Act and the workshops, please visit: www.broadbandusa.gov. 

 

 

###