E-BRIDGE Act

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3193) to amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to provide for a high-speed broadband deployment initiative, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3193, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3193, the Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility, or E-BRIDGE, Act.

Introduced by Ranking Member Graves and Representative Guest, the bill would create a high-speed

broadband initiative at the Economic Development Administration and clarify that public-private partnerships and consortiums are eligible for broadband project grant awards.

Access to reliable high-speed internet is vital for participation in today's workforce and economy. Whether it is working or learning from home, communicating virtually with friends and family, shopping online, or consulting with your doctor remotely, almost every aspect of our daily lives now relies on a connection to the internet.

Unfortunately, millions of people across the country still don't have access to high-speed internet. In my home State of New Hampshire, 10 percent of households lack an internet subscription. This problem is especially prevalent in rural America.

According to a study by the Pew Research Center, almost 30 percent of rural Americans don't have access to high-speed broadband internet services at home. This poses challenges for our small businesses, for students, for families.

Passing this legislation will help our rural communities thrive by removing existing barriers to internet development.

EDA already has the authority to award grants to fund the deployment of broadband infrastructure in communities in most need of assistance, but many communities lack the financial and technical resources necessary to properly develop broadband deployment strategies.

In order to effectively deploy broadband projects in the last mile, local communities must have the flexibility to collaborate with public- private partnerships and consortiums in developing these proposals. By clarifying that public-private partnerships and consortiums are eligible for EDA grants, H.R. 3193 ensures that communities can leverage private-sector expertise without disqualifying them from receiving assistance.

This bill also provides grant applicants with additional flexibility in financing broadband infrastructure projects by clarifying that funds can be combined with other Federal resources and allowing real or personal property to count toward the non-Federal share of a project's cost.

Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member for introducing this critical legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Financial Services,

Washington, DC, November 3, 2021.

Hon. Peter DeFazio,

Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing concerning H.R. 3193, the

``E-BRIDGE Act.'' In order to permit H.R. 3193 to proceed

expeditiously to the House Floor, I agree to forgo formal

consideration of the bill.

The Committee on Financial Services takes this action to

forego formal consideration of H.R. 3193 in light of our

mutual understanding that, by foregoing formal consideration

of H.R. 3193 at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction

over the subject matter contained in this or similar

legislation, and that our Committee will be appropriately

consulted and involved as this or similar legislation moves

forward with regard to any matters in the Committee's

jurisdiction. The Committee also reserves the right to seek

appointment of an appropriate number of conferees to any

House-Senate conference involving this or similar legislation

that involves the Committee's jurisdiction and request your

support for any such request.

Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter

confirming this understanding, and I would ask that a copy of

our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the

Congressional Record during Floor consideration of H.R. 3193.

Sincerely,

Maxine Waters,

Chairwoman.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Graves and Mr. Guest for their leadership on this important issue. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to be the sponsor of H.R. 3193, the Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility Act, or E-BRIDGE, along with the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest).

Unfortunately, too many of our communities, particularly in rural America, still lack broadband access. Broadband is critical to conducting business and attracting jobs for telehealth, education, and emergency preparedness and response efforts in this digital age.

While Economic Development Administration, or EDA, grants may already be used to attract jobs in economically distressed areas, there are hurdles to using these grants for broadband projects, including difficult last-mile efforts that often delay rural broadband development. This bill removes those hurdles to help connect and revitalize our rural communities.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

H.R. 3193 is going to ensure that rural and economically distressed communities are equipped to use EDA grants to develop high-speed broadband access. I feel very strongly about this bill, and I urge support of this important legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would first like to thank Ranking Member Graves for his leadership on this important piece of legislation that would eliminate hurdles and leverage Economic Development Administration dollars to invest in broadband deployment across America's rural communities.

By utilizing public-private partnerships and consortia between internet service providers and economic development agencies, EDA dollars could be leveraged to deploy broadband and spur modern economic development for rural and economically distressed communities.

Many of these consortia exist within the private sector, including many large corporations working to deploy broadband across vast rural areas. However, EDA funds have been held back from small towns and communities working to attract private investment in their communities. The E-BRIDGE Act would directly respond to the needs of these communities and provide flexibility to leverage in-kind services and other Federal resources.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the necessity of the internet in our lives and the need to close the digital divide that exists between rural and urban areas. This bill is supported by The App Association, American Farm Bureau, and the National Association of Development Organizations.

I appreciate the chairman and ranking member for bringing this legislation to the floor, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.