Sec Locke Defends Broadband Stimulus Effort

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke offered a spirited defense of the Obama administration's $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program amid growing accusations from Republicans in the new Congress of wasteful and duplicative spending.

The initiative, which stems from the 2009 economic stimulus package, is designed to promote broadband deployment in mostly rural areas with little or no Internet access. "We had much greater demand than available dollars," Sec Locke told reporters during a press briefing at the Consumer Electronics Show. In the communities that received funding, "the governors, the local officials were very, very supportive of these projects -- we're talking about Democrats and Republican governors, and office holders and local government officials." He also emphasized that his agency and the Agriculture Department, which are running the program, have received strong support from the private sector, and have the resources to conduct their own oversight.