An amendment that would defund Community Connect, a broadband grant program supervised by the Dept. of Agriculture, is part of a spending bill that was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday.
Utah congressman Rep. Jim Matheson introduced the amendment, calling Community Connect an "ineffective program" according to a story in The Hill. Community Connect predates the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and did not receive broadband stimulus funding. It currently has a budget of about $13 million.
Community Connect is largely used to pay for broadband infrastructure and community computer centers in rural areas. However, Matheson says that the program is among the "wasteful and duplicative programs" that need to be cut in order to balance the budget.
For more:
- DSLReports has this story
- The Hill has this article
Related articles:
NCTA contends broadband stimulus funding is being misallocated
Broadband stimulus: Clarity is needed, say service providers