A publication of Bowles Rice llp Spring 2018

A publication of Bowles Rice llp   Spring 2018

Bridging the Digital Divide for Jobs and a Stronger Future
                                          Senator Joe Manchin
                                          United States Senate

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin was          We cannot compete, let alone even participate,        •   Increasing nationwide access to advanced
sworn into the United States          in a global 21st century economy without                  telecommunications services
Senate on November 15, 2010,
to fill the seat left vacant by the   broadband, and yet, according to the Federal          •   Advancing the availability of such services to
late Senator Robert C. Byrd. For      Communications Commission (FCC), over                     all consumers, including those in rural areas
Senator Manchin, serving as           500,000 West Virginians do not have access.           •   Increasing access to telecommunications and
West Virginia’s Senator is truly
                                      Every day, I hear from West Virginians who are            advanced services in schools, libraries and rural
an honor and a privilege.
                                      hindered by this lack of high-speed internet              health care facilities
Senator Manchin is defined by         access in our state. From students who cannot         •   Providing equitable and non-discriminatory
his family and the values that        complete their school work due to slow or                 contributions from all providers of
he learned while growing up
among the hardworking men and         non-existent internet service to born-and-raised          telecommunications services for the fund
women of West Virginia, which,        West Virginians that are leaving home because             supporting universal service programs
over time, formed his vigilant        their livelihoods are reliant on a dependable
desire to be a public servant.
                                      internet connection, the future of our state          One way I have done this is by leading a
From his days as a state legislator
and his six years as Governor         grows more uncertain the longer we are                congressional effort to urge the FCC to move
to his current role, Senator          without adequate broadband connectivity.              forward with The Mobility Fund II, which will
Manchin has always been                                                                     provide $4.53 billion in federal support over
committed to his philosophy of
“retail government” – in other
                                      When it comes to broadband deployment,                ten years to expand mobile broadband coverage
words, connecting with all of his     our state faces unique challenges. Mountainous        across the country, and was unanimously passed
constituents and making service       terrain poses an expensive burden for new             by the FCC last August. In June, I sent a letter
to them his top priority.             buildouts and, with low population densities          to the FCC, with Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS),
Senator Manchin currently             in rural areas, many service providers cannot         asking them to move forward with the Remote
serves on the Senate Energy and       and will not deploy service to these parts of         Areas Fund and structure this program to
Natural Resources Committee,          the state without significant help from the
the Senate Select Committee
                                      federal government. But while rural broadband
on Intelligence, the Senate
Committee on Appropriations           deployment faces significant road blocks, I am
and the Senate Committee on           optimistic that, with enough support, we can
Veterans’ Affairs – four critical     bridge the digital divide in this country.
committees that tackle the
important work of addressing
our nation’s energy needs,            During my time in the Senate, increasing access
standing up for our veterans,         to broadband in West Virginia has been one of
and overseeing discretionary          my top priorities. I have worked to bridge the
spending and intelligence
activities.                           digital divide by supporting bipartisan legislation
                                      that aims to expand broadband
                                      access to West Virginians. I have also been
                                      dedicated to ensuring the FCC is held
                                      accountable to their commitment of
                                      upholding the principles of universal
                                      service, which include:
                                                                                                 Each week, underscoring the importance of technology
                                      •   Promoting the availability of quality services    infrastructure in schools, Senator Manchin holds a Skype session
                                          at just, reasonable and affordable rates for      with a classroom in West Virginia. Seen here: Senator Manchin
                                          all consumers                                            speaks with Lincoln County High School students.

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As a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Manchin works to ensure that federal spending is
         targeted toward priorities that benefit West Virginians – including broadband infrastructure
successfully reach “above extremely high-                and I introduced the Rural Broadband                     in the bipartisan budget agreement that
cost” areas like the nearly 12,328 locations             Deployment Streamlining Act to                           passed the House and Senate on February 9,
of this nature found in West Virginia.                   streamline the application process required              I was able to secure $20 billion in funding
Last February, I also introduced the Rural               to construct broadband infrastructure on                 for critical infrastructure needs like rural
Telecommunications and Broadband                         federal lands. It would also take steps to               broadband.
Service Act of 2017, which calls on the                  ensure that the broadband data collected
FCC to form an advisory committee to                     for the National Broadband Map is robust                 While we have made some strides, the fact
define what “access to comparable services               and reliable by requiring the Government                 that roughly 30 percent of West Virginians
in rural America” should mean. If this                   Accountability Office to examine the                     are still without access to broadband shows
legislation is enacted, the committee would              accuracy of this data. I was thrilled to see             there is much more work to be done. As
develop policies and recommendations                     President Trump’s commitment to rural                    the world becomes increasingly plugged-in
that promote deployment of broadband                     broadband deployment through                             and the economic landscape continues to
access in rural areas across West Virginia.              his Executive Actions announced on                       shift toward the digital age, we must ensure
                                                         January 8, and I am proud to say that                    that West Virginia isn’t left behind.
I have also proudly introduced two other                 these actions are very much in line
bills to address broadband deficiency in                 with the ideas found in my bill with                     All West Virginians deserve fast and
areas across the country. On March 2, 2018,              Senator Heller.                                          reliable internet service so that we can
I’m proud to say that the Senate passed the                                                                       participate in our global society. As your
Rural Wireless Access Act, which would                   The Administration’s inclusion of                        United States Senator, I will continue
require the FCC to collect valid broadband               $50 billion in its infrastructure proposal               to work with my colleagues on both
coverage data. This requirement will be                  to go toward rural infrastructure                        sides of the aisle and President Trump to
incorporated into The Mobility Fund II                   investments is also encouraging and, if                  ensure that we bridge the digital divide
to ensure that we are using coverage data                enacted, I am committed to working                       and provide internet access to all of West
that accurately represents the real-world                with the administration to ensure that a                 Virginia and our neighbors throughout
experiences of West Virginians.                          large portion of that money is put toward                rural America.
Last year, Senator Dean Heller (R-NV)                    broadband deployment. Furthermore,

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