WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing titled “Wired for Growth: How Expanding Broadband Can Revitalize Rural Small Businesses.” During the hearing, Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) highlighted how broadband access is critical to the success of rural entrepreneurs and helps ensure rural small businesses can compete on a level playing field.
“Rural small businesses play a central role in local economies, accounting for nearly 85 percent of firms, and 54 percent of jobs, in rural counties. However, they face unique problems requiring unique attention, one of which is access to broadband, or high-speed, internet service,” said Ranking Member Velázquez.
Velázquez also decried recent changes to the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, a $42.5 billion initiative under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law designed to deliver fiber-optic internet to underserved areas.
In June, the Trump Administration issued a Policy Notice making substantive changes to the BEAD program. These changes deprioritized fiber installation in favor of satellite and other technologies, opened the door for large providers like Starlink to receive funding. The changes also eliminated requirements tied to labor standards, climate resilience, and consumer protections.
“It seems like this change would make BEAD focused more on cheap work than on good work. In other words, President Trump isn’t lowering these costs for rural America – he’s cheapening out on rural America,” said Velázquez.
Throughout the hearing, Democrats emphasized that reliable broadband is critical to the survival of rural small businesses, the future of family farms, and the ability of communities to attract workers and residents. Members argued that rolling back standards has the potential to hamper the growth of rural America and leave them with slower, less reliable service for decades to come.
