Do you have any sense that Rural Development is advocating for a position beneficial to the repayment of their loans and to the continued expansion of broadband availability with the FCC?

The point I would make, and ask you to agree or disagree, is I often think of this issue of the order of 2011 as an impediment toward a telephone company's ability to repay loans that already are in existence to RUS.

We believe that increasing the population limit to 20,000, with a priority given to smaller communities, would provide a benefit to rural America.

Tell me once again what you understand Congress' direction to be in that regard.

Fifteen percent of the proposed area of service is the requirement for the loan?

Okay. When you make a determination about an RUS loan to provide broadband services, the subsidy that is provided by RUS, is it what is designed to be the sufficient amount of additional revenue to make the service available to make it…

I look forward to exploring that.

I just want to make sure that we were not out-Kansaned the gentleman from Oregon.

Thank you Chairman Moran and Ranking Member Merkley for allowing me to testify and I would be happy to answers any questions that you may have at this time.

This issue of the lesser prairie chicken or endangered species, and now the more recent clean power plan, what is wrong with those whose suggestion is just have the utility companies raise the rates?

I appreciate your comments in regard to the nature of Congress working in a bipartisan effort.

Without that predictable and sufficient and sustainable universal service, that demand may not materialize in the form of taking our infrastructure loans to bring broadband to rural Kansans.

If a question is directed to you or to Rural Development, we would appreciate if we could have a response back within 4 weeks.

That requires us to have the best information possible to make those decisions.

We want clean water. I represent lots of communities in which there are not enough ratepayers.

The loans do not go away. They are still going to be due and owing.

Many issues facing rural communities are unique to those areas in an ever-increasing urbanized and technologically-advanced world.

I would tell you, Mr. Chrisman, in Kansas, the most common conversation I have with a Chamber of Commerce executive, an economic developer, a mayor, a city councilmember, when you are visiting a community and you want to talk about what is…