Senators: Expand ReConnect Program to Support Rural Telehealth
A group of senators is asking the USDA to amend its ReConnect Program to allow more states to qualify for funding to improve broadband connectivity, thereby helping to expand telehealth programs in underserved regions.
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- A bipartisan group of senators is urging the Department of Agriculture to amend a two-year-old broadband funding program to give rural states more opportunities to improve their telehealth programs.
In a letter this week to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, the nine senators argue that the ReConnect Program unfairly discriminates against rural states that have received federal funding for satellite service, even though that service isn’t considered sufficient to support Internet connectivity.
“This USDA-imposed restriction – which is not required by law – prevents rural communities across the country from receiving their share of over $500 million in federal funding for high-speed broadband, which is vital to reducing the digital divide and harnessing important opportunities in telemedicine and online education,” the senators wrote.