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S. 1642 118th Congress Senate

ReConnecting Rural America Act of 2023

Official title: A bill to amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish the ReConnect program under that Act, and for other purposes.

Introduced: May 17, 2023 Introduced by: Peter Welch Democratic · Vermont See on congress.gov
Science, Technology, Communications Computers and information technologyGovernment lending and loan guaranteesPerformance measurementRural conditions and developmentSmall towns
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This bill died when the 118th Congress ended
It never became law before the 118th Congress (2023–2024) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 17, 2023
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
May 17, 2023
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action May 17, 2023

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

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

ReConnecting Rural America Act of 2023

This bill merges the pilot ReConnect Loan and Grant Program with existing loans and grants provided by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to facilitate broadband access to rural areas that lack sufficient access to broadband. It also requires that any unobligated amounts available for the pilot program be transferred and made available, without further appropriations, to the merged program. The bill authorizes the merged program through FY2028.

The bill specifies the eligibility criteria and other requirements that apply to the merged program, some of which are the same as the criteria and requirements that currently apply to the pilot program (e.g., the required minimum upload and download speeds).

Further, the bill (1) eliminates the authority of USDA to make loan guarantees, and (2) authorizes USDA to make combinations of grants and loans.

The bill also requires that recipients of grants and loans participate in specified federal programs that assist low-income individuals access broadband and telecommunication services.

 Related & companion bills 1
  • HR 4227 Identical bill ReConnecting Rural America Act of 2023
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Lobbying activity 11

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

  • THE FERGUSON GROUP
    for NATAT (NATIONAL ASSN OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS · District of Columbia · 3rd Quarter 2026 (July 1 - Sep 30)
  • THE FERGUSON GROUP, LLC
    for NATAT (NATIONAL ASSN OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS · District of Columbia · 2nd Quarter 2026 (Apr 1 - June 30)
  • THE FERGUSON GROUP, LLC
    for NATAT (NATIONAL ASSN OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS · District of Columbia · 1st Quarter 2026 (Jan 1 - Mar 31)
  • NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION
    for NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION · Virginia · 4th Quarter 2025 (Oct 1 - Dec 31)
  • THE FERGUSON GROUP, LLC
    for NATAT (NATIONAL ASSN OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS · District of Columbia · 4th Quarter 2025 (Oct 1 - Dec 31)
  • THE FERGUSON GROUP, LLC
    for NATAT (NATIONAL ASSN OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS · District of Columbia · 3rd Quarter 2025 (July 1 - Sep 30)

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 11 filings →
 Cosponsors 3
All 3 Democratic 1 Republican 2
R
Cramer, Kevin
North Dakota · Feb 27, 2024
 D
Smith, Tina
Minnesota · Feb 27, 2024
 R
Marshall, Roger
Kansas · May 17, 2023
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 1642: ReConnecting Rural America Act of 2023. 118th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-1642/
MLA
"S. 1642: ReConnecting Rural America Act of 2023." 118th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-1642/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 1642, 118th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-1642/.
Markdown link
[S. 1642: ReConnecting Rural America Act of 2023](https://openamerica.io/bill/118-S-1642/)
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