A bipartisan pair of senators wants to reauthorize a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program to expand broadband access in rural and underserved areas.
The Middle Mile for Rural America Act, introduced by Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., would reauthorize USDA’s middle-mile infrastructure program for five years.
Federal efforts to expand middle-mile broadband – which links local networks to the wider internet through transport, which is often fiber – build on a rural infrastructure model dating back to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. The act created long-term federal financing to overcome high costs in rural areas.
That model supports USDA’s Rural Utilities Service, and the 2018 Farm Bill expanded USDA authority to fund stand-alone middle-mile broadband projects with loans, guarantees, and grants, to help lower transport costs that slow local broadband buildouts.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created a dedicated Commerce Department grant program to speed middle-mile backbone construction nationwide.
Now, Slotkin and Hyde-Smith’s proposal would update the Rural Electrification Act to extend the agriculture department’s middle-mile support through 2031, keeping federal backing in place for rural transport links needed for high-speed internet.
The program’s authorization expired in 2023 after Congress failed to reauthorize it.
“High-speed internet isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity,” Slotkin said in a statement. “By strengthening USDA support for targeted broadband projects, this bipartisan bill helps lower costs and bring reliable, high-speed internet to rural Michigan and communities across the country, so people can work, learn, and stay connected.”
Hyde-Smith added that “If we’re going to ensure reliable, high-speed broadband service to people in rural areas, we must look at the whole, which includes critical middle-mile projects.? This is a small, but significant USDA program that fills a gap to help ensure reliable and affordable service for rural homes and businesses.”
Bipartisan Reps. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, and Josh Riley, D-N.Y., introduced companion legislation in the House.
The middle-mile infrastructure program complements other broadband funding programs, such as the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which provides federal funding for last-mile – which connects homes and businesses to the internet –– and some middle-mile projects.