Rural Development (USDA )
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Stronger Together
The Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Development (USDA RD) offer this joint planning resource guide, designed to help you eliminate barriers and encourage collaboration among your stakeholders. The guide is separated into four key focus areas including infrastructure and high-speed internet expansion.
Chairwoman Stabenow Unveils the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) unveiled the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act, which contains more than 100 bipartisan bills and puts the 2024 Farm Bill back on track to being signed into law by the end of 2024. The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act reflects more than two years of bipartisan work on the Senate Agriculture Committee and incorporates more than 100 bipartisan bills and the work of Senators on and off the Committee.
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Biden-Harris Administration Partners with Local Organizations, Cooperatives and Tribes to Support High-Speed Internet Deployment in Rural Communities as Part of Investing in America Agenda
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is partnering with rural cooperatives, local organizations and Tribes to support high-speed internet deployment in 11 states. USDA is awarding $5.2 million in cooperative agreements through the Broadband Technical Assistance Program, which is funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
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What's in the Budget for Broadband?
This week, the Biden-Harris Administration announced its proposed 2025 fiscal year (FY) budget. According to the White House, President Biden's top economic priority in the FY 2025 budget is to lower costs for American consumers–reducing junk fees, lowering healthcare costs, and the prices of everyday goods and services.
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Broadband Provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024
On March 9, 2024, President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (H.R. 4366) legislation that funds, through September 30, departments and agencies of the Federal Government covered by six appropriations bills. Here we look at broadband-related funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
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Biden-Harris Administration Bringing High-Speed Internet, Clean Drinking Water and Modern Infrastructure to Tribal Communities
US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is making investments to provide clean drinking water, sanitary wastewater systems and affordable high-speed internet to people in Tribal communities. Secretary Vilsack made this announcement at the one of the nation’s largest Tribal economic development conferences, the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s Reservation Economic Summit (RES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. USDA is investing $58 million in Tribal
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill
The Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides $26.228 billion in total funding. The bill would provide $169,959,000 for US Department of Agriculture broadband programs including:
- $40 million for Distance learning and telemedicine (DLT) grants
- $9.6 million for Congressionally Directed Spending/earmarked DLT grants
- $90 million for ReConnect Loans and Grants
- $10.4 million for Reconnect earmarks
- $20 million for Community Connect Grants
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Merit Network Inc. Receives USDA Grant to expand high-speed internet access for rural Michigan
Merit Network is the recipient of a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant for $997,000 to develop a connectivity and digital equity strategy to promote the expansion of high-speed internet in underserved rural Michigan communities. According to the USDA website, “Under the Broadband Technical Assistance Program, USDA is providing $9.7 million to help 24 organizations deliver or receive technical assistance to expand high-speed internet access for people in rural and Tribal communities across 17 states.
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Why ReConnect Now?
The US Department of Agriculture just announced a new round of ReConnect grants. These are grants that can only be used to serve the most rural places in the country, and one of the qualifications is the distance between the grant market and the nearest towns. The homes served by the grants must not have any broadband available at speeds of at least 25/3 Mbps. A grantee must serve every home in a grant area. It’s not going to be easy to find a grant area that is rural and that has no homes where internet service providers claim the capability to deliver speeds of at least 25/3 Mbps.
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USDA Accepting Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Applications
The US Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service is accepting applications under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) grant program for fiscal year (FY) 2024, subject to the availability of funding. Based on FY 2023 appropriated funding, RUS estimates that approximately $60 million will be available for FY 2024. Successful applications will be selected for funding and subsequently awarded to the extent that funding may ultimately be made available through appropriations.