Peter Welch: “I thank Mr. Young for being a great partner in the presentation of this bill. Many of us worked together on rural…”

“I thank Mr. Young for being a great partner in the presentation of this bill. Many of us worked together on rural telecommunications issues, from getting broadband to all Vermonters and folks in rural parts of your districts to improving our wireless infrastructure to ensuring we have adequate choice and competition in cable markets. That is because it is our desire, and mine especially, to ensure that rural America has comparable telecom services to urban and suburban America, just as the 1996 Telecommunications Act requires. Making that happen requires constant effort and focus. We often focus on rural broadband accessibility and affordability so that the next generation of technological innovation does not skip rural America and leave it behind. The promise of innovation, like the Internet of things, should not be earmarked just for urban and suburban America, which is why it is backwards and unfortunate that we are still talking about finding ways to ensure that traditional landline telephone calls can be completed without interruption on a consistent basis, but that is exactly what this bill that I worked on with Representative Young is getting at.…”