WASHINGTON – Republicans from South Carolina. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott introduced a bill designed to expand broadband Internet access to underserved rural areas across the country.
The State Fix Act would provide $ 20 billion for broadband infrastructure using fiber optic cables, wireless and 5G technologies, according to Graham spokesman Toby Tyler.
“Connectivity is absolutely essential for South Carolina families and businesses,” said Scott. “Greater access to broadband means more opportunities for needy and rural communities, positively affecting everything from education and health to business and workforce development.”
The project also uses a reverse auction method to provide “high-quality broadband service” at the lowest price to taxpayers and bases state funding on its underserved and a percentage of its underserved populations to distribute funds to people. areas of greatest need, such as rural America and zones of opportunity, he said.
“There are places in South Carolina where you might as well be on the moon when it comes to getting a high-speed internet service,” said Graham. “All South Carolina residents must be able to use the educational, telehealth and business benefits of affordable broadband. There is bipartisan support to expand access to broadband, and our legislation dramatically improves access in rural and underserved areas ”.
Unattended communities are defined as those without access to the Internet, while underserved communities are defined as those with low quality service.
Senate supports extension of the Salary Protection Program
WASHINGTON – The US Senate on Thursday passed legislation that Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff co-sponsored to extend the Pay Check Protection Program’s deadline until the end of May. Without action on this legislation, the program would have expired in a few days.
The 2021 PPP Extension Act passed the US House last week and is now expected to be signed by President Biden before the end of the month.
“Passing this bill is a huge victory for small Georgia companies, which can now apply for PPP loans until May,” said Ossoff. “Any small business with questions about how to access this help should contact my office.”
The legislation extends the deadline for small businesses to apply for a PPP loan from March 31 to May 31, and will give the Small Business Administration until the end of June to process and approve applications.
The PPP program was approved last year as part of the CARES Act. Since then, small businesses in Georgia have received more than 260,000 loans worth almost $ 19 billion, allowing them to survive during the pandemic.
By the end of the month, the program is estimated to have between $ 25 and $ 65 billion remaining.
Biden criticizes Georgia’s new electoral measures
WASHINGTON – Democratic President Joe Biden on Friday issued a statement opposing Voting legislation recently signed by Georgia.
The Republican-backed measure imposes new restrictions on voting by mail and gives the legislature greater control over how elections are held.
Democrats and voting groups say the law will disproportionately deprive voters of color.
It is part of a wave of electoral bills backed by the Republican Party and presented in states across the country after former President Donald Trump has fueled false claims that the fraud led to defeat in the 2020 elections.
Here is Biden’s statement:
More Americans voted in the 2020 elections than in any election in our nation’s history. In Georgia, we saw this most historic demonstration of voting power twice – in November and again in the second round for the US Senate seats in January. Recount after recount and case after court confirmed the integrity and outcome of a clearly free, fair and secure democratic process.
However, instead of celebrating the rights of all Georgians to vote or win campaigns on the merits of their ideas, Republicans in the state passed a non-American law to deny people the right to vote. This law, like so many others that are being pursued by Republicans in parliaments across the country, is a flagrant attack on the constitution and good conscience. Among the outrageous parts of this new state law, it ends voting time early, so workers cannot vote after their shift is over. He adds strict restrictions on absentee voting that will effectively deny countless voters the right to vote. And it is a crime to provide voters with water while they wait in line – queues that Republican officials themselves created by reducing the number of polling stations across the state, disproportionately in black neighborhoods.
This is Jim Crow in the 21st century. This must end. We have a moral and constitutional obligation to act. Once again, I urge Congress to pass the People’s Law and the John Lewis Advance Voting Rights Act to make it easier for all eligible Americans to access the ballot box and prevent attacks on the sacred right to vote. And I will take my case to the American people – including the Republicans who joined the widest coalition of voters of all time in the last elections to put the country before the party. If you have the best ideas, you have nothing to hide. Let the people vote.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp replied:
“It is obvious that neither President Biden nor his aides actually read the SB 202, which I sanctioned yesterday. This bill expands access to voting, simplifies the procedures for counting votes and ensures electoral integrity. There is nothing ‘Jim Crow’ about requiring a state-issued photo or identity card to vote by absent vote – every voter in Georgia must already do so when voting in person. President Biden, the left and the national media are determined to destroy the sanctity and security of the ballot box. As Secretary of State, I have consistently led the fight to protect Georgia’s elections against power-hungry party activists. As governor, I will not give up on keeping Georgia’s elections safe, accessible and fair. “
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