Adelstein Pledges Help for Rural Areas with Broadband Program
Former FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein will make sure rural areas understand how to access broadband stimulus funding, he told the Senate Agriculture Committee Tuesday at his nomination hearing to be RUS director. Adelstein received bipartisan statements of support from the committee, with Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa saying he hoped to vote this week on the nomination. “One of our key national priorities should be to aggressively promote the expansion of broadband deployment and adoption,” Adelstein said. Rural telecom services should be affordable to all, he said.
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Adelstein has a chance to improve upon a program that he helped create while he was an aide to then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Harkin said. “We want to do it right … I don’t think we're ever going to see that kind of money again,” Harkin said, referring to the $2.5 billion that RUS received for broadband grants and loans in the Recovery Act. “We really have to work hard to get this money out in the way it’s intended,” Harkin said. “I hope you will commit yourself to making sure your staff works with the smaller communities” that can’t afford to hire grant writers, Harkin said to Adelstein.
“This is an unprecedented level of resources,” Adelstein agreed. The agency must move quickly to get funds out to fulfill the stimulus law’s mission of creating jobs and raising the nation’s level of broadband deployment, he said. “I will do everything I can to ensure we do it wisely and effectively,” Adelstein said. Small communities shouldn’t have to hire grant writers or consultants to apply for grants, he said, promising that, if confirmed, he would ensure that RUS provides resources and be available for consultation.
Committee ranking member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., also said he hoped RUS would help people that don’t have the resources to hire professional grant writers. He urged Adelstein to make sure grants are made first to areas with no services. Chambliss cited a recent Inspector General report (CD June 11 p13) that documented ongoing problems in making broadband grants and loans to areas not served by broadband. “We really need to get this [stimulus] money into the unserved areas,” Chambliss said. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., urged Adelstein to distribute funds efficiently.
Harkin raised concerns about the Agriculture Department’s “outdated” computer system when questioning Evan Segal, the USDA nominee for chief financial officer. “I would be looking forward to any suggestions on how we get that outdated computer system up to present standards,” Harkin said. Segal said that would be a priority for him to address, if confirmed. Segal also said he would consider using data mining technologies to detect and eliminate wasteful spending.