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Friends,

This month, I held two roundtables in Warren and Madison counties with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to discuss expanding access to rural broadband. The roundtables brought together local public officials and representatives from chambers and economic development boards, community colleges and K-12 schools, health care providers, libraries, and small businesses to discuss the difficulties rural communities face due to a lack of access to broadband.

Meeting Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to discuss expanding access to rural broadband

One of the issues we heard about from rural educators and parents is what Commissioner Rosenworcel coined as the “homework gap.” The “homework gap” refers to students who are assigned online homework, but don’t have access to the internet. In today’s digital economy, seven out of ten teachers assign online homework, but as many as one in three households do not have broadband service. How can students do their online homework assignments if they don’t have access to broadband? We are putting our rural students at a significant disadvantage during critical developmental and learning years.

It was great to hear from representatives of the school district in Winterset, who are a national model of how communities can come together to address this “homework gap.” In Winterset, the FCC encouraged local businesses to open their doors and provide decals to put in their windows, so students know they can come in and use their WiFi to do their schoolwork. The public library also maintains longer hours of operation for community members to utilize internet access in the evenings.

We also heard from local businesses who discussed what it takes to operate in rural areas without broadband. Further upgrades to local broadband become an out-of-pocket cost. One rural bank reported a recent upgrade they had to make in connectivity is now costing an extra $24,000 a year. Our rural educators, parents, and small business owners shouldn’t have to pay enormous costs just to compete in the 21st century. That’s why I am proud to support the ACCESS BROADBAND Act to make it easier for our local communities to access federal broadband grants. 

Discussing my work on rural broadband with constituents at our Warren County roundtable

I travel to each of the 16 counties in the Third District every month and two of the biggest issues I hear about from folks in our rural communities are diabetes and mental health, both of which can be better addressed through telehealth services and telemedicine. The rural healthcare providers I hear from, every single one of them, have said if we can get telemedicine, we would be able to help monitor and treat those issues more effectively. That’s why I cosponsored the Better Respiration through Expanding Access to Tele-Health Act to provide for a pilot respiratory therapist telehealth program.

As a member of the Rural Broadband Task Force, I’m working on practical, bipartisan policies to ensure all Americans have access to high-speed internet. In this taskforce I’m working on legislation and holding the government accountable to fully close the digital divide. From closing the homework gap to providing telehealth services, I’m committed to ensuring Iowans living in every corner of this state have access to high-speed internet. To me, making sure that everyone is connected is the key to success right now. Once everyone is connected, our rural communities can work from an equal and level playing field.

Thanks,
Cindy 

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