Senate Bill Would Provide States with Defaulted Broadband Funds

WASHINGTON, Aug 12, 2024 –Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, introduced a bill that would ensure that dormant federal broadband funding went to states that had been promised but did not receive high-speed Internet connections to unserved and underserved locations. 

The Hawley bill, introduced Aug. 1, would require that any amount of an award that was forfeited after the default will not be deposited in the Treasury but instead made available by the Federal Communications Commission to the government of the state that was the subject of the award. This will allow the state to provide the benefits that were proposed to be provided under the award.