Rep.-elect Andrew Clyde said one of his top priorities will be the same as the man he will replace in Congress, Doug Collins. And that is the need for improved broadband internet access in rural America.
Clyde said the coronavirus pandemic has underscored the need for better broadband access because many families do not have access to speeds that allow the parents to work from home and the children to attend school remotely.
"Even more than normal, these families are dependent on their internet connections for their children' education," said Clyde, a Republican who will take office representing Georgia's Ninth Congressional District in January. "In too many parts of this country and too many parts of this district, internet connections are not fast or reliable enough for families to learn, work or communicate consistently, so we need a new approach to bridging the internet divide."
Collins, who represented the Ninth District since 2013, has become a champion of improving broadband access, often taking internet service providers to task for not providing better service to rural communities. In 2019, Congress passed the Connect American Fund Accountability Act, which Collins introduced. The bill, in part, was designed to hold providers accountable for providing speeds to rural areas that had been promised.
But Clyde said Connect America, while well intentioned, has not worked like it should because providers are not doing what they promised, despite collecting taxpayer dollars.
"I see broadband access like the generation before us saw electricity in the 1930s and telephones in the 1940s," Clyde said. "It is an essential infrastructure. We need it to help commerce thrive and families communicate, and, as we saw in 2020, broadband access was essential to the education of our children."
Clyde said soon after he takes office, he'll embark on a broadband tour of the Ninth District, meeting with providers, businesses and families to learn about the impact of this issues on local communities and their residents.
"I want to know how we can stop the cycle of pouring cash into broadband investments that never seem to have the impact that is promised," Clyde said.
Clyde made his comments Thursday during the annual Eggs and Issues Breakfast sponsored by the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce.
