House
Resolution
6
-
Introduced
HOUSE
RESOLUTION
NO.
6
BY
KAUFMANN
,
GASKILL
,
WENTHE
,
MUHLBAUER
,
WITTNEBEN
,
HEDDENS
,
DRAKE
,
SODERBERG
,
BALTIMORE
,
and
FRY
A
Resolution
requesting
modifications
to
a
national
1
broadband
plan
for
the
benefit
of
rural
residents
of
2
this
state.
3
WHEREAS,
residents
of
this
state
living
in
rural
4
areas
deserve
and
expect
the
same
high-quality,
5
affordable
communications
services
that
are
available
6
to
their
urban
neighbors;
and
7
WHEREAS,
similar
to
businesses
in
urban
areas,
rural
8
businesses,
farmers,
and
ranchers
compete
in
the
global
9
marketplace
and
depend
on
affordable
access
to
robust
10
broadband
services
to
market
and
sell
their
products
11
around
the
world;
and
12
WHEREAS,
children
living
in
rural
areas
should
13
have
the
same
educational
opportunities
as
their
14
urban
counterparts
and
high-speed
internet
access
15
is
absolutely
necessary
to
allow
these
students
16
opportunities
for
advanced
learning
through
distance
17
education;
and
18
WHEREAS,
residents
living
in
rural
areas
face
unique
19
health
care
challenges
because
of
the
distances
that
20
must
be
traveled
to
seek
basic
and
advanced
medical
21
care,
and
telemedicine
delivered
via
broadband
networks
22
can
improve
the
health
of
rural
residents
by
reducing
23
the
time
and
travel
needed
for
high-quality
health
24
care;
and
25
WHEREAS,
many
rural
areas
encounter
significant
26
challenges
in
pursuing
and
sustaining
economic
27
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H.R.
6
development
plans
that
bring
quality
higher
paying
1
jobs
to
their
communities,
and
insufficiently
robust
2
broadband
speeds
will
further
hamper
the
economic
3
development
needs
of
many
rural
communities;
and
4
WHEREAS,
the
United
States
Department
of
Agriculture
5
has
rightfully
placed
significant
importance
on
the
6
need
for
broadband
access
in
rural
America
to
improve
7
quality-of-life
and
economic
development;
and
8
WHEREAS,
communications
providers
that
serve
this
9
state’s
rural
areas
have
worked
diligently
to
ensure
10
that
their
consumers
have
access
to
affordable
and
11
reliable
broadband
services
and
have
utilized
the
12
United
States
Department
of
Agriculture’s
Rural
13
Utilities
Service
loan
and
grant
programs
for
economic
14
development;
and
15
WHEREAS,
contrary
to
the
progress
rural
16
communications
providers
have
had
in
deploying
17
broadband,
the
Federal
Communications
Commission
18
is
embarking
on
a
National
Broadband
Plan
that
will
19
negatively
impact
the
ability
of
residents
living
in
20
rural
areas
in
this
state
to
realize
the
true
benefits
21
of
access
to
robust
broadband
speeds
by
limiting
22
support
to
four
megabits
per
second
in
rural,
high-cost
23
areas
of
the
country,
while
calling
for
one
hundred
24
million
urban
homes
to
have
access
to
broadband
speeds
25
at
one
hundred
megabits
per
second
by
2020;
and
26
WHEREAS,
the
National
Broadband
Plan
runs
counter
27
to
the
federal
universal
service
policy
which
ensures
28
access
to
communications
services
at
comparable
rates
29
regardless
of
the
consumer’s
location;
NOW
THEREFORE,
30
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H.R.
6
BE
IT
RESOLVED
BY
THE
HOUSE
OF
REPRESENTATIVES,
That
1
the
House
of
Representatives
challenges
the
Federal
2
Communications
Commission
to
make
substantive
changes
3
to
the
National
Broadband
Plan
so
that
the
plan
does
4
not
limit
the
future
economic
livelihood
and
social
5
wellbeing
of
rural
consumers;
and
6
BE
IT
FURTHER
RESOLVED,
That
the
House
of
7
Representatives
encourages
the
members
of
Iowa’s
8
congressional
delegation
to
work
with
the
Federal
9
Communications
Commission
to
ensure
that
commissioners
10
understand
the
importance
of
robust
broadband
11
deployment
to
rural
Iowa
and
how
the
current
draft
of
12
the
National
Broadband
Plan
needs
to
be
dramatically
13
altered
to
ensure
quality
broadband
service
14
availability
throughout
this
state.
15
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