WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Erin Houchin (IN-09) and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-02)’s bipartisan bill, the Data Broadband Reporting and Integration Deployment in Geographically Essential Areas (Data BRIDGE) Act, was reported favorably out of the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Communications & Technology.
Currently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s National Broadband Map focuses on serviceable locations like homes and businesses but often misses the acreage surrounding where farming takes place. This dramatically skews funding decisions and limits the ability to deploy broadband needed for modern farming technologies like guidance systems, soil sensors, yield monitors, and irrigation controls. The Data BRIDGE Act addresses this oversight by ensuring that information collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) about the location of cropland is included in the National Broadband Map.
“Our farmers depend on access to reliable broadband to stay competitive in a modern economy,” said Rep. Houchin. “The Data BRIDGE Act is a low-cost, commonsense solution, using data the government already has to ensure every broadband dollar lands closer to where the work gets done. I have led the fight to expand broadband access to rural communities in Indiana for years and am proud of this important step toward closing the connectivity gap for our farm families and rural communities. Thank you to Chairman Hudson and Chairman Guthrie for supporting this practical legislation.”
“As a proud co-lead of the Data BRIDGE Act, I know firsthand how critical accurate broadband data is for our farmers,” said Rep. Kelly. “My district stretches from the South Side of Chicago to over 4,500 farms in rural Illinois, and too many of my farmers still lack the connectivity they need for modern tools like soil sensors, guidance systems, and irrigation controls. This bill will use the data we already have to close the gap. I’ll keep fighting to make sure no community in my district, urban, suburban, or rural, gets left behind in the digital age.”
