USDA Should Push for Rural Broadband, Worker Safety, Say Former AG Secretaries

The US Department of Agriculture should pursue full access to broadband service in rural America, said Mike Espy, Dan Glickman, and Ann Veneman, three former agriculture secretaries. “This whole issue of rural broadband, everybody talks about (it), but nothing seems to happen,” said Dan Glickman, who called for a project, similar to building the interstate highway system, to make high-speed internet service available nationwide as soon as possible. The pandemic, by shifting school and work online, amplified the need for service everywhere, he said. “There are big areas of urban America that don’t have broadband but it impacts rural America much more… It’s the best thing we can do for rural development.” Veneman and Espy also urged expansion of rural broadband.