WASHINGTON, D.C. – During today’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing focused on the president’s infrastructure plan, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) discussed the importance of consistency in defining “rural” to enable effective infrastructure improvements in local communities, and specifically for rural broadband buildout. The witnesses at today’s hearing were five U.S. cabinet secretaries: Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
Click here for the full video of Senator Fischer’s exchange with the secretaries
A partial transcript is below.
Senator Fischer: Secretary Perdue, the rural infrastructure program in the administration’s proposal would allocate funding to the governors of each state based on a rural formula. The rural formula would be based on rural lane-miles and rural population. How does the administration intend to define “rural”, for the purpose of this funding? Really specifically as it relates to the rural lane-miles. I know the Department of Agriculture has a number of definitions for rural and other agencies do as well. What do you see happening here?
Secretary Perdue: We have a number of definitions of rural across the federal government. We would love to see that synchronize there. So that we would have a common definition of rural. It’s one of the issues we deal with in our rural development program, over what’s there, what’s eligible and what’s not. Often times, it misses the boat over creating the opportunity for regional partnerships in that area. We would welcome that and we would be participant in any ideas that Congress may have and much of this is statutory over that definition there. Obviously what we are looking at from rural miles, that’s where the infrastructure is. As you know, from the farm to the market there is a lot of rural roads that have to be traverse. So lane-miles is just where the infrastructure is. It’s the bridges and roads out there that happen. The waterways out there in rural America that happen so that they contribute to our competitiveness.
Senator Fischer: Do you have any suggestions right now, any options that you’re presenting to the administration on what the definition of rural would be? You also made a great point, in being able to work regionally on many infrastructure projects. Do you have anything you can share with us?
Secretary Perdue: Yes, our suggestion would be exclusionary. Anything less than a certain number. We are looking at 75,000 people in that regard. Obviously when we talk about rural, we think fields and farms, there are many small communities out here, and some of them have grown and suburbanized, and in a region they can get more than that. We would love to have a consistent definition that we could apply to our rural development program. And we think probably 50 to 75,000 is a good cutoff.