The Green New Deal

In his bid to be the Democratic nominee for president, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) proposed the Green New Deal. Broadband-related provisions of the proposal include:

• Build resilient, affordable, publicly-owned broadband infrastructure: $150 billion in infrastructure grants and technical assistance for municipalities and states to build publicly owned and democratically controlled, co-operative, or open access broadband networks. 
• Repair and modernize public housing including making all public housing accessible, conducting deep energy retrofits of all public housing, and providing access to high-speed broadband. 
• Invest in workers and de-industrialized community economic development. Counties with more than 35 qualifying workers will be eligible for targeted economic development funding to ensure job creation in the same communities that will feel the impact of the transition most. Eligible projects include drinking and waste water infrastructure, broadband, and electric grid infrastructure investments. 
• Provide targeted regional economic development. Communities especially in need of assistance during our transition to a clean energy economy will be eligible for an additional funding for economic development investments through regional commissions and authorities. Our federal regional commissions make targeted economic development investments in rural America. These commissions have funded projects that enhance workforce competitiveness, build and repair infrastructure, and increase community capacity like broadband projects, clean drinking water, organic farming, and energy efficiency.
• Infrastructure investments for impacted communities. Provide $130 billion for counties impacted by climate change with funding for water, broadband, and electric grid infrastructure investments.
• Saving American families money by weatherizing homes and lowering energy bills, building affordable and high-quality, modern public transportation, providing grants and trade-in programs for families and small businesses to purchase high-efficiency electric vehicles, and rebuilding our inefficient and crumbling infrastructure, including deploying universal, affordable high-speed internet.