Rural Broadband Assistance Act
Sponsored By: Representative Taylor, David J. [R-OH-2]
Introduced
Summary
Creates a USDA-funded Broadband Technical Assistance Program to help rural communities plan, finance, and win broadband projects. It would fund grants for organizations to provide training and to prepare grant applications, feasibility studies, market surveys, financial forecasts, technical designs, and broadband data collection.
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- Rural families and households: Communities would get help turning broadband plans into fundable projects, which can make local broadband deployment more likely.
- Tribal governments and local agencies: Federally recognized Tribes, states, and local governments could receive assistance to prepare applications and identify public and private financing.
- Colleges, nonprofits, co-ops, and companies: Institutions of higher education, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, cooperatives, corporations, and similar entities may be eligible to provide or receive technical assistance and training.
- Small providers and projects: Grants would support feasibility, environmental and market studies, technical design, and data collection to make smaller broadband projects ready for funding.
- Program design note: The Secretary would prioritize organizations with experience and allow national or multi-State applications for on-site community technical assistance and training.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Grants to expand rural broadband
This bill would set up a Broadband Technical Assistance Program at USDA. The Secretary would give grants to public, nonprofit, and private groups to provide or receive help that expands rural broadband. Grants could pay for preparing USDA broadband grant, loan, or loan guarantee applications. They could also fund financing searches, feasibility and design work, market and need surveys, and environmental studies. They could support management training and collecting broadband infrastructure data. Tribes, states, local governments, territories, colleges (including land-grant, HBCU, and Hispanic-Serving), 501(c)(3) nonprofits, cooperatives, corporations, LLCs, and LLPs could apply. The Secretary would favor groups with experience and could fund on-site help across states or nationwide. No funding amount or start date is listed in the summary.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Taylor, David J. [R-OH-2]
OH • R
Cosponsors
Rep. Sorensen, Eric [D-IL-17]
IL • D
Sponsored 4/30/2025
Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7]
VA • D
Sponsored 9/15/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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