Access: “Rep. Clyburn Leads Introduction of $100B Broadband Bill” (H.R. 7302, the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act); ALA Applauds

• UPDATE: Legislation Tracker: H.R. 7302: To make high-speed broadband internet service accessible and affordable to all Americans, and for other purposes.

From Multichannel News:

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) was joined by members of the House Rural Broadband Task Force and other House Democrats Wednesday (June 24) to introduce H.R. 7302, the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, yet another bill to boost broadband in the time of COVID-19 and beyond. 

The bill would put $100 billion into building high-speed broadband infrastructure in underserved as well as unserved communities and subsidize the service to make sure it was affordable. It would also put billions of dollars into broadband adoption programs. 

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The Clyburn bill would spend $80 billion to close the digital divide with high-speed broadband infrastructure nationwide, with $5 billion going to low interest broadband deployment loans. It would establish an office in the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), the FCC’s chief communications policy advisor, to make sure the money allocated for the program was spent efficiently

Read the Complete Article

Direct to Full Text of Bill

Direct to News Release, List of Co-Sponsors

ALA Statement (From News Release):

“ALA commends Congressman James E. Clyburn and his colleagues on the House Rural Broadband Task Force for bringing together a comprehensive plan to address the digital inequities that plague rural and urban communities and are especially felt by people of color and Indigenous people. The Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act tackles all sides of the digital divide: access, affordability, and adoption, and digital skills. America’s 117,000 libraries are key partners in advancing all these goals – and in providing opportunity to build digital skills. ALA applauds an approach that involves coordination among federal, state, and local organizations and looks forward to working with Whip Clyburn, Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and the Task Force to move this bold legislation forward.”  

See Also: SHLB Coalition -Statement: “Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act Recognizes Key Role of Anchor Institutions in Closing Digital Divide”