Baldwin, Ernst’s Bipartisan Legislation to Cut Red Tape and Expand Access to Internet in Rural America Passes Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) announced that their bipartisan Access to Capital Creates Economic Strength and Supports (ACCESS) Rural America Act, unanimously passed the U.S. Senate. The legislation expands access to broadband in rural areas by easing the burden of regulatory costs for smaller broadband providers that rural communities rely on.

“Access to high-speed internet is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity for Wisconsinites to work, attend school online, run their businesses, manage their farms, and connect with people across the world,” said Senator Baldwin. “For too long, small local providers, often in our rural areas, got caught up in burdensome regulations and it stopped them from reaching more people. My bipartisan bill cuts red tape for our small broadband providers and helps them expand reliable, affordable internet to more families and small businesses across Wisconsin. I worked hard with my Republican colleagues to get this bill passed out of the Senate and now, we are fighting to get it to the president’s desk and deliver for Wisconsin families.”

“Iowans need high-speed internet and quality broadband access to attend school and work in today’s world,” said Senator Ernst. “I’m grateful my bipartisan effort to cut regulations, reduce unnecessary requirements, and unleash local telecom companies passed the Senate. I will always stand up and fight for small businesses and rural communities!”

The ACCESS Rural America Act provides regulatory relief to rural telecommunications service providers by allowing them to submit streamlined financial reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These small companies—many of which are the sole service providers in their region—could be put out of business by regulatory costs and unnecessary red tape. Specifically, this bipartisan legislation would create an exemption from certain SEC public registration and reporting requirements for rural telecommunications companies. This will save these small companies from costly and burdensome requirements that were never intended for them.

“NTCA congratulates and thanks Senators Tammy Baldwin and Joni Ernst for getting the ‘ACCESS Rural America Act’ approved by the full Senate. Federal Securities and Exchange Commission registration and reporting requirements intended for larger, publicly-traded firms pose significant challenges for, and can impose substantial burdens on, smaller, locally-owned companies with limited resources. NTCA therefore greatly appreciates the leadership of Senators Baldwin, Ernst, and others in introducing and passing the ‘ACCESS Rural America Act,’ which will help relieve these burdens and enable small providers to focus more on their core mission of deploying and operating advanced broadband networks in rural areas,” said Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association.

“Lakeland Communications is a rural local community-based provider in northwest Wisconsin. On behalf of our Lakeland and similarly situated rural providers, we are very grateful to see Senator Baldwin and her office pass the vital and critical ACCESS Rural America Act,” said John Klatt, President and CEO of Lakeland Communications. “As the BEAD program invests $42.4 billion in funding for expanding broadband, the nation needs local, community-based providers now more than ever. ACCESS Rural America will enable us to get back to doing more network building, connecting fiber optic in rural settings, and supporting the business of the good people of rural Wisconsin, while spending less of our resources on burdensome SEC regulation compliance. We now call on the US House of Representatives to pass the ACCESS Rural America Act as soon as possible. Kudos to Senator Baldwin!”

In addition to Senators Baldwin and Ernst, the ACCESS Rural America Act is also co-sponsored by Senators Krysten Sinema (I-AZ), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA).

Full text of this legislation is available here.

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