House Commerce Committee Republicans Urge for Funding for Improved Broadband Mapping

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR), Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Bob Latta (R-OH), and fellow subcommittee Republican members urged House Appropriators to provide funding for improved broadband mapping, which is vital for deploying broadband and bridging the digital divide. The members penned a letter to Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX) urging the Committee to fully fund the Broadband DATA Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump in March. This bipartisan bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to work to collect broadband availability data. While the FCC is hard at work beginning this implementation, they cannot fully implement this law until needed funding is passed by Congress.