David Loebsack: “I thank Chairman Doyle for yielding 5 minutes to me. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand here today to speak in support of…”

“I thank Chairman Doyle for yielding 5 minutes to me. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand here today to speak in support of my bill, the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act, or the Broadband DATA Act, which I introduced with my colleagues Representatives Latta, McEachin, and Long. I have spent my time at the Committee on Energy and Commerce advocating for the people of Iowa's Second District and for all rural Americans. I have had good partners on this committee. Congressman Latta and I have worked together on numerous issues, not just this one, and I appreciate the time and energy that Chairman Pallone and Chairman Doyle have spent on ensuring the issues important to Iowans get attention and because they understand that in 2019 it is simply unacceptable that many families and small businesses, farmers, educators, and healthcare providers in rural areas don't have the necessary access to high-speed internet. I have often said that there are two things needed to connect rural America to high-speed broadband, and that is dollars and data. Without reliable data, the dollars don't matter. As I have often said: garbage in is garbage out. You have to have good data to know where the problems exist, otherwise--maybe even more importantly--it is a waste of taxpayer dollars as well.…”