IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 885 
Recognizing the importance of broadband in rural areas throughout the 
United States and the critical need to invest in broadband expansion 
in an increasingly connected and digitally dependent world. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 25, 2022 
Mr. BAIRD (for himself, Mr. CUELLAR, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. LUCAS, Mr. 
BABIN, Mr. BANKS, Mr. BARR, Mr. BOST, Mr. BUDD, Mrs. CAMMACK, 
Mr. CAREY, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Ms. CHENEY, Mr. COLE, Mr. 
CRAWFORD, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. ELLZEY, Mr. FALLON, 
Mr. FEENSTRA, Mr. FERGUSON, Mrs. FISCHBACH, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, 
Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Mr. HARRIS, Mrs. HARTZLER, Ms. HERRELL, 
Mr. JACKSON, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. KELLY of Pennsyl-
vania, Mr. KUSTOFF, Mr. LATURNER, Ms. LETLOW, Mr. MANN, Mr. 
MCKINLEY, Mr. MEIJER, Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia, Mrs. MILLER 
of Illinois, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. OBERNOLTE, Mr. 
RICE of South Carolina, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. SMITH of Missouri, Mr. 
STAUBER, Mr. STEUBE, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. WILLIAMS of 
Texas, and Mr. WITTMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the importance of broadband in rural areas 
throughout the United States and the critical need to 
invest in broadband expansion in an increasingly con-
nected and digitally dependent world. 
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•HRES 885 IH 
Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic led to an increase in re-
mote work and digital communication among all Ameri-
cans, more so than ever before; 
Whereas, as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic, many busi-
nesses, schools, government agencies, and organizations 
devised remote work strategies and invested in digital al-
ternatives to replace in-person, paper-based methods of 
doing business; 
Whereas, since the COVID–19 pandemic has brought chal-
lenges to rural community businesses struggling to stay 
afloat, children accessing virtual school from remote and 
other digitally underserved locations, and individuals 
seeking to access health care as rural hospitals have 
closed, broadband remains critically essential to rural 
communities; 
Whereas technology is transforming the agriculture industry 
and changing the way farms operate, and such advances 
are largely dependent on maintaining strong internet 
connectivity in rural communities; 
Whereas innovation on farms and in other rural settings is 
severely hampered if these locations lack access to robust 
broadband; 
Whereas broadband disparities continue to exist between 
rural and urban communities, despite the growth and 
normality that remote work and digital communication 
have achieved in the past two years; 
Whereas consistent internet connectivity is essential for farm-
ers, and a gap currently persists among rural and urban 
communities with respect to delivering high-speed and re-
liable broadband to all Americans; 
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•HRES 885 IH 
Whereas high-quality internet access is essential for Ameri-
cans to work, learn, and communicate with one another, 
and it is therefore important that broadband access in 
underserved communities be improved and maintained; 
Whereas approximately 60 percent of broadband capacity is 
used by large providers of content streaming services, 
and rural broadband providers have difficulty in raising 
prices to cover the costs associated with this ever-growing 
demand; and 
Whereas one of the most vital needs of our country is modern 
and durable infrastructure, which includes strong and ro-
bust broadband: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives finds 
that— 
(1) the Nation’s broadband infrastructure is in 
critical need of improvement, particularly as it af-
fects Americans located in rural communities who 
continue to struggle to stay connected in an increas-
ingly connected and digitally dependent world; 
(2) in order to expand rural broadband assist-
ance and to improve the administration and account-
ability of the broadband programs in rural commu-
nities, the Department of Agriculture should utilize 
its expertise, experience, and reach to bring these in-
vestments to rural America quickly and responsibly; 
(3) the Federal Communications Commission 
should study the current and projected demands on 
rural broadband networks associated with services 
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•HRES 885 IH 
offered by large providers of content streaming serv-
ices; and 
(4) the Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy should establish a broadband re-
search and development working group to address 
national research challenges and opportunities for 
improving broadband access and adoption across the 
United States. 
Æ 
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