During his stop at the University of Mary Washington in
Fredericksburg on Monday, U.S. Senator Mark Warner (VA) stressed the
significance of increasing broadband coverage in rural areas as he discussed
the future of Internet access locally and across the country.[1]
The workshop on Monday was aimed at localities looking for
federal funds to expand broadband access primarily to rural areas of the
commonwealth.
In the wake of the 112th discordant Congress,
however, close to $1 trillion[2]
has been slashed from federal funds usually granted to local governments for
law enforcement, education, infrastructure, and research and development.
Warner commented that Republicans and Democrats should work
with one another to “equalize” revenues and spending.
Indeed, one would think that the idea of expanding and
improving broadband access for rural localities would be an issue both parties
could agree upon, even in this disharmonious political environment. Improving
broadband access would not only expand markets for businesses in the U.S., it
would also allow rural entrepreneurs to “plug into” a wider U.S. market, not to
mention our democratic society.[3]
Unfortunately, the only solutions that conservative
legislators have put forward are tax and program cuts that will undoubtedly do
more harm than good for our nation’s economy,[4]
not least of those negatively affected being rural Americans.
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