A bill introduced in the Senate late last week aims to strengthen the ReConnect rural broadband program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The bill was introduced by Republican senator Roger Marshall (South Dakota) and Democratic senator Peter Welch (Vermont).
The bill, known as the “ReConnecting Rural America Act of 2025,” would amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish the ReConnect program.
The USDA ReConnect program provides grants, loans, and grant/loan combinations to cover some of the costs of deploying broadband in rural areas where high-speed broadband isn’t available.
The program has been included in Farm Bills, which typically are passed every five years. But as Derrick Owens,senior vice president of government & industry affairs for WTA–Advocates for Rural Broadband, explained on a phone call with Telecompetitor today, “ReConnect is not an authorized program in the Farm Bill yet.”
That means Congress must vote every year to make funding available for the program. WTA and other rural broadband associations hope to see that change.
The Senate bill would make ReConnect an authorized program, Owens said.
Other aspects of the bill, according to a press release, include:
- Establishing 100 Mbps symmetrical buildout speeds
- Clarifying that USDA can make grants, loans, or grant/loan combinations
- Establishing clear definitions to ensure that ReConnect prioritized those who are most in need of broadband
- Clarifying that Communications Union Districts are eligible entities under ReConnect
- Improving coordination and communication among stakeholders at the federal level
