House Votes Down Farm Bill With Rural Broadband Funding
The House voted 198-213 Friday to defeat the 2018 Agriculture and Nutrition Act farm bill (HR-2), which contained several broadband-related provisions, amid opposition from members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who were seeking a floor vote on their preferred…
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immigration plan. Thirty Republicans joined the unified 183-member Democratic caucus in voting down the bill. Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., soon began the process to eventually seek a House revote on HR-2, though it’s unclear when such a vote will happen. The bill contained $600 million in funding for rural broadband and several other House Agriculture Committee-cleared broadband amendments. Those additions included language that would set FCC benchmark broadband speeds of 25 Mbps for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads as the “minimum acceptable standard of service” for broadband programs supported by Rural Utilities Service funding (see 1804180076). The House adopted two broadband-related amendments to HR-2 Thursday, before the bill’s Friday defeat. One, from Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, would require the Department of Agriculture and NTIA to coordinate on broadband loan and grant programs. The other, from Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., would streamline the U.S. Forest Service’s application process for broadband infrastructure projects on federal lands.