Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) in cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to provide assistance to families who need internet connectivity during the coronavirus crisis. The Keeping Critical Connections Act would appropriate $2 billion for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to help small broadband companies provide students and their families with access over the course of this public health crisis.
“With students studying from home all over Nevada, I want to ensure that students have the critical broadband access they need to succeed academically. No student should be falling behind because a family can’t afford connectivity. This bipartisan legislation will help connect students all over the Silver State to their teachers and classmates during this crisis.”
In addition to Senators Cortez Masto, Klobuchar, and Cramer, Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Dan Sullivan (R-Ark.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Steve Daines (R-Mont), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) also cosponsored the Keeping Critical Connections Act.
BACKGROUND:
Senator Cortez Masto has pushed for expanded broadband for underserved rural and urban communities as part of her Innovation State Initiative by introducing the bipartisan Connected Rural Schools and ACCESS BROADBAND Acts, as well as co-leading on legislation to make it easier for schools to put Wi-Fi technology on buses.