A smart use for $50 billion of covid relief funds: Broadband

When President Joe Biden asked what critics would have him cut from his covid relief bill, he got plenty of answers about reducing the $510 billion in aid to state and local governments — including from us. Now some moderate Senate Democrats are suggesting a middle way: Earmark $50 billion of those funds for broadband investment. The idea, spearheaded by Sens Angus King (I-ME) and Mark Warner (D-VA), is a political crowd-pleaser more likely to attract cross-aisle support than most big spending. The funds, likely in the form of grants, would address the immediate emergency of millions of Americans going Internet-less in a time when being online, whether for work, school or telehealth, is more important than ever. The money would also serve the longer-term effort of connecting the entire nation for the post-pandemic world — estimated to cost as much as $80 billion for the wiring, and another pretty penny for providing high speeds to the low-income.

Is this really a coronavirus relief measure, or is it a question of infrastructure? The answer is yes: The senators are trying to tackle a connectivity crisis that the pandemic has revealed and then exacerbated — addressing problems that are particularly potent today, and hoping in the process to ameliorate them for years to come. The full relief bill may still be too costly, but it makes more sense to spend money on an acknowledged need than to simply hand states a slush fund that is bigger than their pandemic-provoked shortfalls. “Look at it as a down payment on an infrastructure bill,” Sen King said.