WASHINGTON, March 8, 2010 – The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on Monday urged the Treasury Department to clarify the tax implications for the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

NARUC criticized the Commerce Department and the Agriculture Department for failing to clarify whether Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program grants, Broadband Infrastructure Program grants, and broadband mapping grants are taxable.

WASHINGTON, December 17, 2009 – A number of Democratic lawmakers jumped on the broadband bandwagon Thursday to support the use of federal money to encourage adoption of the technology, while one Republican was quick to criticize the Obama Administration for excessive government spending.

WASHINGTON, December 17, 2009 – Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that $2 billion will be made available on a rolling basis over the next 75 days to increase broadband penetration across the country. The money is part of the $7.2 billion Congress allocated in January for national broadband investments.

WASHINGTON, November 18, 2009 – In a report to Congress, the NTIA said Wednesday that it won’t conclude doling out the first round of broadband stimulus funding until February 2010.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration clarified in its third quarterly progress report to Congress this week that it will be dolling out the entirety of the grant money during the next ten months.

The year 2010 is going to be a busy time for the period for both the NTIA and the Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities is the other agency, the two government entities charged with distributing $7.2 billion of federal funding.

October 20, 2009 – The states of Illinois and Kansas on Tuesday released their recommendations for the first round of broadband stimulus funding, with Illinois winnowing 140 applicants for broadband projects to a list of 31 proposed projects, and Kansas narrowing its pool of 85 applicants to 22.

Vice President Joe Biden gave an update on Thursday of the grants issued under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including broadband. Although practically no funds have yet been issued for broadband, the subject was included in the update of programs that are a part of the “president’s overall commitment to a lay a new foundation for economic growth in the 21st century” – together with smart grid, high-speed rail and health information technology.

WASHINGTON, August 31, 2009 – The role of rural communities continues to play a major part in the debate over the state of the nation’s broad¬band with a new study finding that high-speed Internet access helps grow their economic base.

WASHINGTON, July 6, 2009 – The structure of the federal government broadband stimulus program finally began to take shape last week, as the NTIA and the RUS released regulations laying the framework for the way that many billions of dollars of funds will be spent.

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2009 – By June 30, the NTIA intends to hire an outside contractor to help administer its broadband grants program, release rules for $4.7 billion in grants, and issue two separate notices of funds availability.

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2009 – Proper oversight of the $7.2 billion Broadband Technology Opportunities Program can only take place if key terms are defined properly, a panel of agency officials and policy experts told a congressional committee on Thursday.