A diverse coalition of rural advocates—including the National Association of Towns and Townships, and other agriculture, health, education, and infrastructure organizations—has sent a joint letter to House and Senate Appropriations leaders urging robust Fiscal Year 2026 funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service telecommunications and broadband programs. Highlighting more than $13 billion invested over the past 15 years, exceptionally low loan-default rates, and billions already repaid to the U.S. Treasury, the signatories underscore that these proven public-private initiatives are essential for delivering reliable, high-speed connectivity to rural America and for sustaining the economic, educational, and healthcare vitality of the nation’s small towns and counties.
Click here to read the letter.