Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper released the following statement following congressional testimony from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick:
“Colorado, and the rest of the country, worked for years to create and prepare programs to expand broadband access under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. These programs are nearly finalized, and delaying them will cost millions of dollars, add unnecessary bureaucratic burdens, and deprive Coloradans of high-speed, affordable internet. Secretary Lutnick’s decision to ask states to reapply for this federal funding betrays the promise Congress made to the American people.”
The BEAD program provides $42.45 billion to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs in all 50 states and territories. The program prioritizes unserved and underserved locations that have no or very slow internet access. In Colorado, 10 percent of locations are unserved or underserved, and 190,850 households lack access to the internet. In June 2023, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration awarded Colorado over $826 million as part of the program.
The Senators helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorized the BEAD program. The BEAD program is based on Bennet’s bipartisan BRIDGE Act that was introduced in June 2021 to provide $40 billion in flexible broadband funding to states, Tribal governments, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia to ensure all Americans have access to affordable high-speed internet.
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