Rep. Craig's Bill to Expedite High-Speed Internet Connectivity Projects on Federal Lands Passes House
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig’s bipartisan bill to expedite broadband infrastructure projects on federally-managed lands and connect more Minnesotans with high-speed internet passed the House of Representatives.
The Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, if passed by the Senate and signed into law, would help improve access to high-speed internet in rural and underserved communities, especially in states with large amounts of federal land. The state of Minnesota contains 3.4 million acres of federal land.
The bill streamlines the permitting process for broadband projects on federally-managed lands by directing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to lead an interagency strike force with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior to improve coordination, set review goals and hold agencies accountable.
The United States faces a persistent digital divide. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), approximately 5.8 million homes and businesses lack access to high-speed internet, while 31 percent of the geographic area of the United States lacks 4G LTE high-speed mobile broadband coverage. Many of these unserved locations are near property owned by the federal government.
“From online classes to telehealth to remote work, the ability to get online is changing the way we learn, conduct business and take care of ourselves,” said Rep. Craig. "That’s why it’s so important that folks across Minnesota, from urban and suburban to rural communities, have access to the online resources they need to succeed. We should be making it easier, not harder to expand broadband infrastructure, and that’s exactly what my bill will do. I’m proud to see the House pass this important legislation today and will keep working to get it passed in the Senate and signed into law.”
As a co-chair of the Congressional Rural Broadband Caucus, Rep. Craig has led the effort to connect Minnesota’s rural communities to high-speed internet.
Last June, Rep. Craig wrote a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urging the Administration to follow through on its promise to deliver high-speed internet to rural communities through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
Last Congress, Rep. Craig led a group of Members in urging Speaker Johnson to take action to extend funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provided 23 million American households – and over 244,000 Minnesota households – with access to affordable high-speed internet. She later introduced the Secure and Affordable Broadband Extension Act to increase funding for federal broadband accessibility programs like the ACP, which expired in June of 2024.
In 2024, she secured a $1 million federal investment to improve internet access in Le Sueur County, Minnesota.
The Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act was co-led by Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO). You can read the full text of the bill HERE.
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