WASHINGTON-A program created in last year’s Farm Bill to allow loans for technology-neutral broadband deployment is at risk of not being funded during this year’s appropriations cycle, proponents of the program warned Oct. 24.
“The Senate needs to strike the provisions in the Agriculture Appropriations bill that kill the Farm Bill broadband loan program and reject the House provisions that not only kill the program, but automatically reject existing applications,” said Gregory Rohde and Christopher McLean, the two principals in the broadband finance consulting firm e-Copernicus.
Rhode and McLean are both former officials of the Clinton administration. Rhode was the assistant Commerce secretary for telecommunications and information. McLean is the former administrator of the Rural Utilities Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A warning about the fate of the program was issued by the Wireless Communications Association.
“Earlier this year, the House of Representatives voted to eliminate the mandatory funding provisions in the RUS broadband loan program. The mandatory provisions would be replaced with a discretionary program of less than half the size contemplated by the farm bill. Under the House version of the agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal year 2004, the new mandatory-spending program would be eliminated. Also, RUS would be prohibited from spending funds to process broadband loan applications that were filed for the fiscal year 2003 round, which includes the applications of many WCA members. The House bill reflects the administration’s budget proposal to eliminate the farm bill program that was enacted last year. The current version of the agriculture appropriations bill that was reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee would also essentially cut in half the size of the program although arguably permitting the processing of existing applications. While both the House and Senate bills provide for broadband loans for fiscal year 2004, less than half the level of funding for the current program would be available,” said WCA.
It is unclear whether the Senate will separately take up the agricultural spending bill or whether it will be combined into a massive “omnibus” spending bill. The latter could mean the Senate could vote on provisions without reading the final language.
