USDA Rural Development Nominee Pledges to Review Broadband Programs
Glen Smith, President Donald Trump’s nominee for agriculture undersecretary for rural development, told Senate Agriculture Committee members Wednesday that he will make it a priority to review USDA’s broadband programs in response to Republican lawmakers’ concerns about the scope of federal connectivity efforts leading to unnecessary funding overlaps. Meanwhile, panel Democrats pressed Smith on strengthening USDA’s ReConnect program, citing GOP proposals to end or reduce its funding.
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Smith committed to reviewing the six connectivity programs within USDA’s Rural Development division after Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, raised concerns. But earlier in Wednesday's hearing, he said USDA “should strive to achieve the same level of success in rural connectivity” that it did in “bringing electricity” to rural areas during the New Deal. “Many urban residents desire and would seek the amenities of rural living, [but] they also need the tools to work remotely in meaningful occupations,” Smith said. “Those same tools of connectivity allow schools, hospitals and businesses in rural areas to compete with the rest of the world.”
Broadband connectivity “in rural America is very, very important, [and] we need to make sure that we're able to completely thrive with that connectivity,” Ernst said. But there are currently “more than 133 broadband programs across the government, [many of which] are very duplicative and could be better coordinated.” She wanted Smith to examine the Rural Development programs “to reduce that duplication and ensure that taxpayer dollars are targeted to truly connecting our unserved areas and underserved areas.” Ernst touted her Streamlining Rural Broadband Act (S-2610), which proposes merging ReConnect with USDA’s Community Connect Grant program.
Conversely, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., raised concerns about the Trump administration’s plans for USDA, including “in the context of a lot of talk about moving things around within Rural Development, [in part by shifting] rural broadband programs to” the Commerce Department. There’s not a “concrete plan [yet,] but I can tell you that in Minnesota, this is giving people a lot of concern.”
Smith acknowledged to Senate Agriculture ranking member Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and other Democrats that USDA has “had success with ReConnect, [but] the main thing we’re going to be looking at is, do we have the resources” to keep the program running. The Senate and House agreed in September, as part of a FY 2026 minibus funding bill that included USDA (HR-3944), to allocate $96 million for the department’s rural connectivity programs, including $35 million for ReConnect. That’s 61% less than it got for FY 2025. The two chambers are still in conference to resolve other differences between their versions of HR-3944. The House Appropriations Committee’s earlier FY26 USDA bill (HR-4121) would have kept ReConnect’s FY25 funding of more than $90 million.
Klobuchar said ReConnect “has delivered high-quality internet to rural areas” and asked Smith how he will ensure that the program and other USDA connectivity initiatives will be “accessible to rural electric co-ops and other small, rural providers.” She also questioned whether ReConnect “should prioritize [projects delivering] speeds like those available in urban areas.” Smith responded that it's “entirely up to you in Congress” how to allocate USDA’s funding. He told Klobuchar that rural areas “should have the same access to connectivity” as urban centers and that he believes Rural Development “can deliver.”
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., noted that he and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., recently refiled the upper chamber’s companion to the ReConnecting Rural America Act (HR-3119/S-3084), which would make ReConnect permanent and require projects that qualify for its funding to be capable of 100 Mbps symmetrical speeds. The measure would also require that funding go to communities in which 75% or more of households are unserved by broadband with speeds of at least 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds. “You shouldn't get second-string, second-rate internet service just because you're a rural American,” Welch said.