Davids Announces Funding to Increase Access to Affordable High-Speed Internet

Today, Representative Sharice Davids joined Senators Angus King (ME), Chris Van Hollen (MD), and Amy Klobuchar (MN), as well as White House American Rescue Plan Coordinator Gene Sperling and U.S. Department of the Treasury Chief Recovery Officer Jacob Leibenluft to announce Kansas has received $83.5 million for increased broadband accessibility projects. The U.S. Department of the Treasury approved the funds for Kansas, Maine, Maryland, and Minnesota today under the American Rescue Plan's Capital Projects Fund (CPF).

Currently, 173,000 Kansans lack home broadband service and 307,000 don't have access to reliable internet. Kansas will distribute the new American Rescue Plan funding through the Kansas Broadband Acceleration Grant Program to build high-speed internet services where there is a demonstrated need, serving 21,300 locations across the state. The Broadband Acceleration Grant Program is designed to deliver reliable internet service that meets or exceeds download and upload speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps), speeds that are needed for a household with multiple users to simultaneously access the internet.

"The internet is used to access crucial resources such as employment opportunities, business software capabilities, virtual learning, and healthcare," said Davids. "This federal funding will help close the digital gap and keep our communities connected – particularly those who have not had access to high-speed internet in the past. I am proud to have voted for the American Rescue Plan that continues to make a positive impact on the lives of Kansas families."

"These broadband investments through the American Rescue Plan will help lay the foundation to ensure that every American household and small business has access to affordable, high-speed internet," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. "Treasury commends Kansas for using this funding to bring high-speed internet access to areas where there is demonstrated need and to reduce broadband bills for low-income families."

Each of the internet service providers funded through the project will participate in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program which ensures households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare, and more by providing a discount of up to $30 per month.

Davids previously announced $1,511,039 in American Rescue Plan funding will help students in the Kansas Third District access the internet while attending school from home. Since the American Rescue Plan was signed into law in March 2021, Davids has visited vaccination clinics, restaurants, museums, child care centers, elementary schools, college campuses, health centers, and small businesses who benefited directly from the targeted relief.

The American Rescue Plan brought emergency relief funds directly to businesses, students, families, and workers in Third District:

• 158 restaurants received a total of $46,221,870 from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund
• 20 venues received a total of $26,421,144 from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant
• 91,000+ families received a total tax cut of $223.8 million from the Child Tax Credit
• Colleges, universities, and students received over $110 million in emergency funding
• 40,000 households became eligible for lower health insurance premiums, saving an average of $3,800 annually
• Kansas City area transit systems, including the KC Streetcar, received $90.9 million

Across Kansas, Davids voted to send:

• $1.58 billion in state relief and $1 billion in local relief to Kansas communities
• Over 1.8 million individual economic stimulus checks to Kansans
• Over $860 million in relief to Kansas' K-12 schools
• 169,000 Kansans a nearly $1,000 earned income tax credit
• Health care savings to 107,000 Kansans, increasing coverage by 22%