Commissioner Clyburn Remarks before the American Library Association

Broadband investment is critical infrastructure investment, which increasingly determines which city, town, or Tribal nation, thrives or not. Broadband is critical in generating sustainable social and economic growth, because like water, roads, railways, electricity, broadband is now fundamental when it comes to a community’s development. 

I applaud Sen Heinrich’s (D-NM) leadership on the Tribal Connect Act of 2017, which would close an existing eligibility gap that currently prevents some Tribal libraries from participating in E-rate. It would ensure that, in the absence of a Tribal community library, other
facilities owned by an Indian tribe, such as chapter houses, longhouses, community centers, and other public gathering places, could be eligible to receive E-rate support. These targeted reforms could help us chip away at the broadband connectivity challenge on Tribal lands, and I firmly believe that the FCC has a statutory duty to support broadband through traditional as well as novel means.