[20220209]IF12041_农场法案入门：农村宽带规定.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov February 9, 2022Farm Bill Primer: Rural Broadband ProvisionsSince 2002, Congress has included provisions addressing rural broadband (i.e., high-speed internet access) in the rural development title of omnibus farm bills. The provisions amend and reauthorize many of the rural broadband programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This In Focus provides background information on USDA rural broadband programs, an overview of selected provisions in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 farm bill, P.L. 115-334), and issues for Congress as it considers the next farm bill. Background According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), approximately 14.5 million Americans lack access to broadband at speeds of at least 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits per second upload (i.e., 25/3 Mbps). Of these Americans, 11 million live in rural areas. The lack of broadband is concentrated in certain rural regions in the United States. The USDA Economic Research Service found that broadband is less available in rural counties in the lower Great Plains and Western Mountain states and in rural persistent poverty counties in