Olympia Snowe: “The E-Rate program has fundamentally transformed education in this country.”

Thank you. I will be a fast talker. And I want to thank all of you for your very impressive testimony.

In closing, libraries are vital community technology hubs, and we simply cannot allow inadequate bandwidth to be the limiting factor for what our students and our nations can achieve.

Due in no small part to the leadership of Senators Rockefeller and Snowe, the E-Rate program from its inception focused on providing high-capacity transmission services to libraries and schools.

We would not have connectivity and all that it brings to our schools and libraries if it were not for E-Rate.