Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) aggressively entered digital divide...
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) aggressively entered digital divide debate last week, introducing as her Senate career’s first legislation package of 7 bills that primarily would provide tax breaks and subsidies designed to encourage broadband deployment in rural areas. She…
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said “poor Internet access” in upstate N.Y. was thought by some to be “the biggest barrier to economic barrier in the region.” Clinton’s proposals would be spread across 3 different committees, not all of which she sits on, and it was unclear how she intended them to be advanced. Her office didn’t return call. All of bills were co-sponsored by group of 9 Democrats: Sens. Baucus (Mont.), Corzine (N.J.), Dayton (Minn.), Dodd (Conn.), Leahy (Vt.), Lieberman (Conn.), Mikulski (Md.), Rockefeller (W.Va.) and Schumer (N.Y.). Among Clinton proposals: (1) $100 million program for state and local govts. to offer subsidized 15-year bonds to fund Internet access improvements (S- 426). Govts. wouldn’t have to pay interest on bonds, and preference would go to projects in underserved areas that included cooperation between govt. and private sector. Bill was referred to Finance Committee, of which Clinton isn’t member. (2) $100 million program of grants and loans for businesses that provide rural areas with Internet service, demonstrate new methods for serving rural areas or connect industrial parks and small business incubators with high-speed links (S-428). Bill went to Commerce Committee, where Clinton also isn’t member, and is co-sponsored by Sens. Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Boxer (D-Cal.) as well as other 9 Democrats. (3) Program funded at $25 million first year, $125 million thereafter, that would provide govt. expertise to help universities transfer new technologies to small businesses more quickly (S-429). Referred to Commerce Committee, bill is backed by 9 and Boxer. (4) $25 million grant for National Science Foundation to research technologies for better rural deployment of broadband (S-430). Bill was sent to Commerce Committee.