Manchin, Cooper Refile $10B Eliminate the Digital Divide Act

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., led refiling the Eliminate the Digital Divide Act Wednesday. The measure, first filed in October, would allocate $10 billion to states for broadband buildout in unserved areas, including $1 billion for high-cost locations. It would require the FCC update its maps to reflect the 2020 Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act. Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Roger Williams, both of Texas, are the measure’s lead GOP co-sponsors. NCTA said the plan “recognizes the importance of tech neutrality and includes important safeguards … to ensure accountability. The legislation also focuses on the need to remove barriers to broadband deployment, such as the [eligible telecom carrier] requirement.” Manchin told reporters he backs an “enormous” infrastructure package that he would like to see lawmakers pay for partly via “adjustments” to tax cuts enacted in 2017. He suggested instituting a value-added tax to help fund an “infrastructure bank.” Some Democrats floated using budget reconciliation without GOP buy-in (see 2103160001).