RALEIGH, N.C. — The Agriculture Department announced Thursday it is making available $759 million in grants and loans to enable rural communities to access high-speed internet, part of the broader $65 billion push for high-speed connectivity from last year’s infrastructure law.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and White House senior adviser Mitch Landrieu unveiled the grants during a visit to North Carolina.
There are 49 recipients in 24 states. One is North Carolina’s AccessOn Networks, which will receive $17.5 million to provide broadband service to 100 businesses, 76 farms and 22 educational facilities in the state’s Halifax and Warren counties. Both counties are rural and have predominantly Black populations.
“Rural America needs this,” Vilsack said. “Rural America deserves this.” He made the announcement in front of John Deere equipment, noting that rural areas tend to be where the electricity for cities is generated and where city dwellers and suburbanites go for vacations.
The announcement and visit to North Carolina, a state with an open U.S. Senate seat, come as President Biden and other Democratic officials try to sell their achievements to voters before the Nov. 8 midterm elections. Landrieu, the infrastructure coordinator and former New Orleans mayor, told reporters that the Biden administration has already released $180 billion for various infrastructure projects.
The administration is specifically targeting support for small towns and farm communities, places that generally favor Republicans over Democrats.