States Want NTIA and RUS to 'Outsource' Broadband Stimulus Grant-Vetting

The complexities of relationships between federal, state, and local governments, the private sector and sovereign Indian tribes emerged during a Monday afternoon round table on the role of states in the NTIA-RUS grant process. While state utility commissions and governments cite expertise and knowledge of local players as a reason for the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Agriculture Department's Rural Utilities Service to delegate authority, representatives of small business interests and Native American tribal governments saw the same factors as possible roadblocks to allowing stimulus funds to achieving program goals. States have a natural "gatekeeper" role to play during the grant process when "time is of the essence," said National Governors Association Legislative Counsel David Parkhurst. Not only can states best identify stakeholders and partners as well as identify and aggregate demand, but Parkhurst suggested that the first "wave" of grants should be reserved for states with existing broadband plans in place. Such state groups would provide needed "evaluation benchmarks," he said. State governments could certify to NTIA and RUS that grantees proposals' are "consistent" with a state plan, Parkhurst said. This kind of federal-state collaboration will be "necessary" to prevent wasted and duplicate efforts going forward, he said.