The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) could speed delivery of rural b...
The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) could speed delivery of rural broadband loans if it streamlined handling of borrowers with good repayment histories, OPASTCO said in comments filed Tuesday. Many “well-established rural carriers” with good RUS credit histories can become…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
discouraged by the “unnecessarily burdensome” application process, OPASTCO said of procedures RUS proposed for screening loan applicants. Of course the Department of Agriculture’s RUS unit wants to ensure loans go to qualified borrowers to avoid defaults but glacial reviews drive carriers to other lenders, said OPASTCO. “All applicants need not be subject to identical application procedures,” it said. “Like any lender, the RUS can and should consider the repayment history of applicants, their affiliates or parent companies that have previously borrowed from other RUS programs,” OPASTCO said. Tuesday was the deadline for comments on varied RUS proposals to improve regulations for the Rural Broadband Program. The United States Telecom Association said RUS should revise the proposed broadband loan rules to make sure “critical financial resources reach areas that do not have high speed Internet service.” Saying “the current rules governing the broadband loan program do not efficiently target scarce government funds,” it urged two changes: Keep funding for “duplicative” broadband services to a minimum and remove unfair barriers keeping otherwise qualified service providers from getting financing. RUS made the rule changes to get more money to underserved areas, but “many of the proposed rule revisions are either inadequate or not authorized by the statute,” USTelecom said. “Unnecessary and burdensome rules and policies that discourage potential providers from participating in the broadband loan program deny rural Americans the benefits of broadband service.”