Terms for Agriculture Department rural broadband loans would be e...
Terms for Agriculture Department rural broadband loans would be extended and rural public TV stations could get loans for gear to help with the digital transition, under farm bill amendments the Agriculture Committee adopted Thursday. The amendments propose minor…
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changes to Title VI, on the rural broadband loan program. Loans could be amortized over 35 years if “adequately secured,” according to the measure by Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio. “We have to make it easier for companies to provide broadband access or we're never going to connect Appalachia,” Space said. USTelecom praised Space’s amendment, which would boost rural broadband deployment, association president Walter McCormick said in a statement. The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association also hailed the amendment as a way to reduce “burdensome” paperwork required of loan applicants. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association praised the Agriculture Committee’s work on the rural broadband provisions, promising support as the bill proceeds. Space’s amendment passed on a voice vote. A second amendment, by Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., would ensure rural public TV stations could get Agriculture Department grants to replace analog broadcast gear with digital. It also passed without controversy on a voice vote.