Pennsylvania is poised to receive $100 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for improving broadband access. Advocates and local lawmakers say it has the power to transform rural communities.
Susan Boser, professor of sociology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, said the decline in manufacturing jobs in the mid-20th century hit rural towns the hardest, including in the Keystone State. In a Thursday news conference hosted by Keystone Research Center and ReImagine Appalachia, Boser argued broadband connectivity is key to bringing economic development back to these communities.
“On any weeknight, if you would drive into Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, you’d see cars in the parking lot around the McDonald’s,” Boser recounted. “It’s parents who are sitting there, accessing the broadband so that their children can do their homework. That’s been the state of things in Pennsylvania, rural areas, for about the last 10 years.”
According to the Governor’s office, 500,000 rural Pennsylvanians lack reliable internet coverage. In October, the state awarded $20.6 million to schools and libraries through the Emergency Connectivity Fund.
With the influx of federal dollars, state lawmakers unanimously passed legislation to create the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority. It will coordinate the broadband rollout, including construction of new towers, lines and equipment.
Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Greene County, a member of the Authority, said there is a lot of work to do to make sure the process is equitable.
“We’re going to need folks from our labor union sector, you know,” Snyder pointed out. “We want to make sure that this money is utilized properly and that it goes to Pennsylvania workers. This is to make sure that we are servicing unserved and underserved areas in the Commonwealth.”
The Broadband Development Authority hosted its first meeting last month and is searching for an executive director. Snyder pointed out the state has the potential to access more funds through the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program. She added the Authority plans to apply for the grant to receive extra support.
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Short-term budget extensions are often used by Congress to keep the federal government funded, and with another budget deadline looming, community action agencies in North Dakota say it’s time to adopt a different approach, so people who are struggling are not left behind.
The latest continuing resolution to keep federal money flowing expires March 11, and social-service groups argued the temporary approach often results in flat aid levels.
Andrea Olson, executive director of the Community Action Partnership of North Dakota (CAP-ND), added they are dealing with staffing shortages for Head Start and home-weatherization programs. The uncertainty makes it hard to serve clients.
“Are there going to be fluctuations in the funding levels? We just don’t know enough right now,” Olson stated.
CAP-ND is part of a coalition of 350 organizations nationwide petitioning Congress to approve a full-year omnibus spending bill. The Coalition on Human Needs estimates under temporary plans, nearly one-third of these groups have lost at least 20% of their funding in the past decade when considering inflation.
North Dakota’s economy has shown signs of rebounding from the pandemic, but weekly Census Household Pulse survey data showed roughly half of low-income residents in the state still struggle to find employment.
Olson contended reliable federal funding could help.
“If we could deploy more job-training and education programs, that would be advantageous,” Olson explained. “Simultaneously though, job-training programs have lost 18% or more of their funding over the past decade.”
She noted when child care cost and access issues are added in, it is even harder for parents to stay in the workforce.
As Congress races to meet the budget deadline, some Republicans have floated a full-year plan locking in spending levels from the Trump administration, but Democrats are pushing for larger increases for nondefense agencies.
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Gov. Steve Sisolak announced multiple initiatives to lower the cost of living for everyday Nevadans in his 2022 State of the State speech on Wednesday.
The governor said that the state will use $500 million in federal funds for the Home Means Nevada Initiative, which will help people stay in their homes and build new affordable housing. Sisolak also promised to direct funds to make low-cost child-care slots available to more families.
“And today, I’m announcing a further investment of $160 million to help lower costs for parents and keep child-care workers on the job,” said Sisolak. “This investment will double the number of families we support.”
Much of the money comes from the American Rescue Plan, which was unanimously opposed by Congressional Republicans, who cited concern about the cost.
Multiple Republican candidates for governor will face off in the June primary for the right to challenge Sisolak in his bid for re-election this November.
Hector Fong, communications and digital strategies co-director with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, praised the plan’s focus on the needs of working families.
“I think it’s a great way to ensure that President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan funds reach our community and not just corporations and billionaires,” said Fong.
In his address, the governor also announced that Nevada will join the Northwest Drug Consortium, which allows states to negotiate with drug companies to keep costs down.
He also plans to use federal funds to provide free lunch at all K-12 schools for the next two years, and will direct his workforce development committee to explore ways to make community college free by 2025.
Disclosure: Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Environment, Human Rights/Racial Justice, Immigrant Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.
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Ohio still has billions of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds on the table, and advocates are calling for a public planning process to ensure the needs of communities are met.
$2.7 billion of the more than $5 billion allotted to the Buckeye State have already been assigned.
William Tarter, Jr., fellow at the Center for Community Solutions, which launched the Greater Cleveland American Rescue Plan Council to examine how the dollars can be maximized, said two schools of thought are emerging.
“One that said let’s get these dollars out the door to address the urgent needs of the community, and there’s others who are saying, we have time, let’s be methodical and deliberate,” Tarter explained. “That’s why we want to make sure we have a great chorus around the table that can inform those conversations.”
ARPA funds need to be assigned by Dec. 31, 2024, and spent by the end of 2026.
Kim Murnieks, director of the Office of Budget and Management for Gov. Mike DeWine, argued it is important to avoid investing in the creation of new programs with ongoing costs beyond when ARPA dollars run dry.
“If you look at what the state has already appropriated some of the ARPA funding dollars on things like infrastructure for our children’s behavior-health hospitals,” Murnieks outlined. “They’re one-time costs that have lasting benefits to communities.”
Tarter added ARPA dollars can specifically focus on ensuring a fair and equitable recovery by addressing housing affordability, improving health-care access and supporting workers.
“We look at the disparate impact of the pandemic, and how it impacted different portions of the population,” Tarter pointed out. “And that’s something that I think can be really interesting, in terms of how those dollars are spent, how they respond to the needs of various communities across the state.”
Murnieks noted half of Ohio’s ARPA funds were already appropriated to the state and the other went to local governments.
“So there are opportunities to approach your counties, your cities, your municipalities, or if you have a local project that you would be beneficial and funded through ARPA dollars, the state is not your only avenue,” Murnieks emphasized.
Advocacy groups are calling for public input on how the money will be spent.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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