Community Connect Grant Program Act of 2026

Tina Smith

Democrat · MN · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

2026-04-27

Source: Congress.gov

The bill would extend and reauthorize a federal grant program that helps bring high-speed internet access to rural communities that lack reliable broadband service. This program provides funding to rural electric cooperatives and other organizations to build the infrastructure needed to connect underserved areas to the internet. The measure affects rural residents and businesses that currently have limited or no access to broadband, as well as the utility companies and nonprofits that would receive grants to expand internet service.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4385 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4385 To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to reauthorize the Community Connect Grant Program, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 27, 2026 Ms. Smith introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to reauthorize the Community Connect Grant Program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Community Connect Grant Program Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. COMMUNITY CONNECT GRANT PROGRAM. Section 604 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb-3) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)-- (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``less than the'' and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following: ``less than-- ``(A) a 100-Mbps downstream transmission capacity; and ``(B) a 20-Mbps upstream transmission capacity.''; and (B) in paragraph (2)-- (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ``an area'' and inserting ``a rural area''; (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``10- Mbps'' and inserting ``25-Mbps''; and (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``1- Mbps'' and inserting ``3-Mbps''; (2) in subsection (d)(2)(A), by striking ``area; or'' and inserting ``area (including any eligible broadband service that will be provided in the future in the eligible service area pursuant to enforceable commitments for network deployment applicable under another broadband funding program); or''; and (3) in subsection (g), by striking ``2023'' and inserting ``2031''. <all>

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