WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet released the following statement following the congressional testimony from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick:
“Colorado, and the rest of the country, worked for years to create and prepare programs to expand broadband access under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. These programs are nearly finalized, and delaying them will cost millions of dollars, add unnecessary bureaucratic burdens, and deprive Coloradans of high-speed, affordable internet.
“Secretary Lutnick’s decision to ask states to reapply for this federal funding betrays the promise Congress made to the American people.”
Hickenlooper was part of the bipartisan group of 22 senators who negotiated and wrote the $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal, which authorized the BEAD program.
The BEAD program is the largest broadband investment in American history and invests $42.45 billion to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs in all 50 states and territories. It prioritizes communities with little to no reliable internet access to make sure unserved and underserved areas aren’t left behind.
In Colorado, 10 percent of locations are unserved or underserved, and 190,850 households lack access to the internet. In June 2023, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration awarded Colorado over $826 million as part of the program.
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