Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández joined House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (SC-06) to introduce  H.R. 1783, the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, which authorizes over $94 billion to ensure unserved and underserved communities have affordable high-speed internet access.

“During the pandemic, our rural and Native American schoolchildren couldn’t attend school virtually and instead had paper lessons delivered by school bus – no teacher interaction, just a bus drop. Without broadband, New Mexicans living in rural and Tribal communities have missed out on critical telehealth services and resources to keep their small businesses open.  We needed this bill years ago and we introduce it now with the urgency of this moment because investing in broadband is an investment in our communities’ future. We’ve proudly brought my district's experience to this bill which will benefit Tribal communities and spur collaborative projects to meet the needs of rural New Mexicans,” said Leger Fernández. 

Congresswoman Leger Fernández secured two key provisions based on her experience working as an attorney to get broadband access in rural Tribal areas. These include: 

• Bill language to ensure that joint broadband development applications from multiple entities are allowed, which enables partnerships among community stakeholders. 
• Text to ensure that Tribal governments and Tribally designated entities and buildings are eligible to receive funding and support from the $80 billion program to expand broadband access authorized in this bill. 

“Access to broadband today will have the same dramatic impact on rural communities as the rural electrification efforts in the last century,” said Whip Clyburn. “When I formed the Rural Broadband Task Force, our mission was to address the digital divide. The disparate effects of that divide have been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic and exposed the urgency of ensuring universal access to high-speed internet. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to enact the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act.” 

This legislation is the product of extensive collaboration between members of the House Rural Broadband Task Force, Chairman Frank Pallone (NJ-06) and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

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