The
move will kick off the second leg of Biden's tour highlighting
how legislation passed by Congress during the first half of his
term will affect average Americans, as his reelection bid gears
up.
"We have an historic opportunity here to make a real difference
in people's lives and making sure that we deliver on that
potential is what we're about every day and to make sure that
people feel that at their kitchen table, in their communities,
in their backyards,” White House chief of staff Jeff Zients
said.
Zients compared the broadband effort to President Franklin
Roosevelt's efforts in 1936 to bring electricity to rural
America. The administration estimates there are some 8.5 million
locations in the U.S. that lack access to broadband connections.
Broadband companies such as Verizon, Comcast, Charter
Communications and AT&T have been reluctant to provide access to
low-population, rural communities because the investments are
expensive and the regions do not offer a lot of subscribers. The
lack of broadband access drew attention during COVID shutdowns
that forced students into online schooling.
The Biden administration will say how much of the $42 billion in
funding each state will receive under the Broadband Equity
Access and Deployment Program, based on a newly-released Federal
Communications Commission coverage map that details access gaps.
States are expected to submit initial plans later this year that
will unlock 20% of the funding. Once the plans are finalized,
which could take to 2025, the remaining money will be released.
Biden is also set to give what White House officials describe as
a major economic speech on Wednesday in Chicago, laying out
so-called "Bidenomics," according to a memo from senior advisors
Anita Dunn and Mike Donilon to Congressional Democrats and other
allies.
The speech will focus on Biden's attempts to build the economy
by focusing on the middle class and not the wealthy. The
advisers noted the economy has added more than 13 million jobs
since Biden took office, including nearly 800,000 manufacturing
jobs.
(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Scott Malone and Chris
Reese)
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