For Rural America, Broadband Access Today is what Electricity Access was 100 Years Ago
Heather Mizeur • April 13, 2021
A century ago, as American cities grew ever stronger and the U.S. solidified its place as the leading industrial economy, millions of rural people were still farming, cooking, and cleaning in conditions basically unchanged for centuries. The modernizing world had left them behind, even as it depended on the food and raw materials they provided. But President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s program to bring electricity to every corner of the country changed all that through a combination of vision, political will, and large-scale federal investment.
Broadband access today is what electricity access was 100 years ago. Without it, rural communities like those on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and elsewhere can’t compete. Our young people lose educational opportunities, and our budding entrepreneurs can’t start businesses. Farmers use technology connections to manage and store data, and even operate certain high-tech machinery. And telecommuting is a challenge for us when it shouldn’t be. Anyone who’s tried to learn while sharing a weak home connection with three or four other users, or driven 30 miles or more to a Starbucks parking lot so they could attend a crucial Zoom meeting, knows what I’m talking about.
Efforts to address the connectivity gap have come and gone for more than a decade. In Maryland, a state task force assigned to review this problem issued a report with recommendations in 2019. In response, Gov. Larry Hogan announced a plan to spend $9.6 million to connect about 5,000 households. It’s a great start, but the problem is much bigger. According to the task force’s own report, over 300,000 Marylanders are without high-speed internet. The Federal Communications Commission reported last year that 18 million Americans lack broadband access, and that’s likely a low estimate.
The piecemeal approach tried so far can bring modest gains, but in the end, large, national problems like this demand national solutions. That’s why I applaud recent efforts at the federal level to address this critical need, especially House Majority Whip James Clyburn’s Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, a $100 billion initiative to deliver high-speed broadband to underserved areas. Rep. Clyburn formed the House Rural Broadband Task Force in 2019 with the goal of bringing affordable high-speed Internet to 100 percent of Americans. “Since then,” he says, “the disparity between those served and unserved has become even clearer.” Pandemic living has shined a glaring light on the digital divide.
In addition to deploying the physical infrastructure to make near-universal access a reality, the Clyburn bill would also require internet service providers to offer affordable options, provide grants for states to close gaps and help rural students with innovative solutions such as Wi-Fi access on school buses. Given the covid-19 crisis and many competing priorities, the bill has languished since it was introduced last June. Now, with both the Biden administration and Democratic majorities in Congress on record supporting high-speed broadband, this issue needs to move up the list of priorities.
The passage last month of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan presents another opportunity for progress. This sweeping legislation includes $350 billion in aid to state and local governments; Maryland’s share is about $4 billion. Governor Hogan and the General Assembly should dedicate a portion of that funding to meeting the needs identified in the 2019 state task force report. A set-aside of just 2 percent, or $80 million, could put a significant dent in the “last mile” challenge facing the Eastern Shore and elsewhere in rural Maryland.
Some steps have already been taken at the federal level under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, a 10-year, multibillion-dollar FCC program. But experts have questioned the FCC’s process for disbursing those funds, and the billions spent previously on similar initiatives relied on untrustworthy service-area mapping. Clearly, we need a more robust federal effort — well coordinated, well researched, and adequately funded.
The good news is, after four years of jokes about “Infrastructure Week,” we finally have leadership in Washington that recognizes how critical it is to create and properly maintain the building blocks of a healthy economy: roads, bridges, mass transit, utility lines, and, yes, high-speed broadband. Infrastructure was once a nonpartisan issue, and there’s no reason it can’t be again. Just as Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike want sturdy bridges and safe highways, everyone needs to be able to get online quickly and reliably.
To be sure, this problem does not affect only rural people. The Abell Foundation recently reported that more than 40 percent of households in Baltimore City lack broadband access. But what Rep. Clyburn and his federal Rural Broadband Taskforce have recognized, is how rural people are especially vulnerable to being bypassed in this regard — just as they were in previous eras.
Electrification brought rural America into the 20th century, and life without it soon became unimaginable. In this Information Age, access to high speed Internet has taken its deserved place among the necessities of contemporary life. Every Marylander — indeed, every American — deserves a chance to compete on the even playing field that only universal high-speed broadband provides. Two decades into this new century, we can no longer wait.
Former state delegate Heather Mizeur, a resident of Chestertown, is a Democratic candidate for Congress in Maryland’s First District.
This commentary was first published in The Baltimore Sun on March 15, 2021.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.
Apparently, some people think that the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is a foregone conclusion, and that the struggle over the budget and Trump’s agenda is over and done. Not true. On Sunday night, the bill — given the alternate name “Big Bad Bullsh*t Bill” by the Democratic Women’s Caucus — was voted out of the House Budget Committee. The GOP plan is to pass this legislation in the House before Memorial Day. But that’s not the end of it. As Jessica Craven explained in her Chop Wood Carry Water column: “Remember, we have at least six weeks left in this process. The bill has to: Pass the House, Then head to the Senate where it will likely be rewritten almost completely, Then be passed there, Then be brought back to the House for reconciliation, And then, if the House changes that version at all, Go back to the Senate for another vote.” She adds, “Every step of that process is a place for us to kill it.” The bill is over a thousand pages long, and the American people will not get a chance to read it until it has passed the House. But, thanks to 5Calls , we know it includes:
Let's talk about our Eastern Shore Delegation, the representatives who are supposed to fight for our nine Shore counties in Annapolis, and what they actually got up to this session.
For the first time in recent memory, Virginia Democrats have candidates running in all 100 House of Delegates districts — a milestone party leaders and grassroots organizers say reflects rising momentum as President Donald Trump’s second term continues to galvanize opposition.
The 447th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on April 8. This End of Session Report highlights the work Shore Progress has done to fight for working families and bring real results home to the Shore. Over the 90-day session, lawmakers debated 1,901 bills and passed 878 into law. Shore Progress and members supported legislation that delivers for the Eastern Shore, protecting our environment, expanding access to housing and healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights, and more. Shore Progress Supported Legislation By The Numbers: Over 60 pieces of our backed legislation were passed. Another 15 passed in one Chamber but not the other. Legislation details are below, past the budget section. The 2026 Maryland State Budget How We Got Here: Maryland’s budget problems didn’t start overnight. They began under Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan expanded the state budget yearly but blocked the legislature from moving money around or making common-sense changes. Instead of fixing the structural issues, Hogan used federal covid relief funds to hide the cracks and drained our state’s savings from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion to boost his image before leaving office. How Trump/Musk Made It Worse: Maryland is facing a new fiscal crisis driven by the Trump–Musk administration, whose trade wars, tariff policies, and deep federal cuts have hit us harder than most, costing the state over 30,000 jobs, shuttering offices, and erasing promised investments. A University of Maryland study estimates Trump’s tariffs alone could cost us $2 billion, and those federal cuts have already added $300 million to our budget deficit. Covid aid gave us a short-term boost and even created a fake surplus under Hogan, but that money is gone, while housing, healthcare, and college prices keep rising. The Trump–Musk White House is only making things worse by slashing funding, gutting services, and eliminating research that Marylanders rely on. How The State Budget Fixes These Issues: This year, Maryland faced a $3 billion budget gap, and the General Assembly fixed it with a smart mix of cuts and fair new revenue, while protecting working families, schools, and health care. The 2025 Budget cuts $1.9 billion ($400 million less than last year) without gutting services people rely on. The General Assembly raised $1.2 billion in fair new revenue, mostly from the wealthiest Marylanders. The Budget ended with a $350 million surplus, plus $2.4 billion saved in the Rainy Day Fund (more than 9% of general fund revenue), which came in $7 million above what the Spending Affordability Committee called for. The budget protects funding for our schools, health care, transit, and public workers. The budget delivers real wins: $800 million more annually for transit and infrastructure, plus $500 million for long-term transportation needs. It invests $9.7 billion in public schools and boosts local education aid by $572.5 million, a 7% increase. If current revenue trends hold, no new taxes will be needed next session. Even better, 94% of Marylanders will see a tax cut or no change, while only the wealthiest 5% will finally pay their fair share. The tax system is smarter now. We’re: Taxing IT and data services like Texas and D.C. do; Raising taxes on cannabis and sports betting, not groceries or medicine; and Letting counties adjust income taxes. The budget also restores critical funding: $122 million for teacher planning $15 million for cancer research $11 million for crime victims $7 million for local business zones, and Continued support for public TV, the arts, and BCCC The budget invests in People with disabilities, with $181 million in services Growing private-sector jobs with $139 million in funding, including $27.5 million for quantum tech, $16 million for the Sunny Day Fund, and $10 million for infrastructure loans. Health care is protected for 1.5 million Marylanders, with $15.6 billion for Medicaid and higher provider pay. Public safety is getting a boost too, with $60 million for victim services, $5.5 million for juvenile services, and $5 million for parole and probation staffing. This budget also tackles climate change with $100 million for clean energy and solar projects, and $200 million in potential ratepayer relief. Public workers get a well-deserved raise, with $200 million in salary increases, including a 1% COLA and ~2.5% raises for union workers. The ultra-wealthy will finally chip in to pay for it: People earning over $750,000 will pay more, Millionaires will pay 6.5%, and Capital gains over $350,000 get a 2% surcharge. Deductions are capped for high earners, but working families can still deduct student loans, medical debt, and donations. This budget is bold, fair, and built to last. That’s why Shore Progress proudly supports it. Click on the arrows below for details in each section.
