President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Empowers the Department of Commerce to Deliver for Rural America

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will deliver billions to rural communities across the country to create economic opportunity. Supporting Americans living in rural areas remains a top priority for the Biden Administration, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law delivers on the President’s promises to provide high-speed internet, safe roads and bridges, modern wastewater systems, clean drinking water, reliable and affordable electricity, climate data and information and good-paying jobs in every small town and rural community. As part of this effort, the Biden Administration is also committed to working with communities to help them access federal resources and improving transparency and trust in the federal government.

The Department of Commerce will lead this effort focusing on expanding rural broadband. This fact sheet provides information for rural communities to know all the available resources under the infrastructure law, where to apply, or how find more information.

Please route any questions to: CommerceIGA@doc.gov

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The Department of Commerce has a number of programs that provide support to rural communities across the country in expanding rural broadband and supporting rural environments and climate resilience.  Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Department of Commerce has made historic investments in rural communities through a host of new and existing programs.

High-speed internet access is an essential tool for rural Americans to interact and thrive in our modern economy. High-speed internet ensures that our children can learn, our businesses can sell their products to a global market, our farmers can use precision agriculture, and our families can access the best medical care through telehealth.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) infrastructure programs will help meet President Biden’s goal to connect every American by ensuring access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet through historic investments in broadband infrastructure that is deployed in ways that are less susceptible to climate impacts. Additionally, NTIA will help lower prices for internet service and help more rural Americans afford internet access, computers and other devices necessary to connect to the internet.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) supports the Administration’s priorities to tackle the climate crisis and improve climate services for communities across the country, including rural and underserved communities by enhancing coastal resilience, conserving our lands, waters and biodiversity, and increasing carbon sequestration and storage. These programs will allow NOAA to make significant progress on Administration priorities for more effective, enduring, and inclusive conservation that delivers current and future benefits to all Americans. This includes emphasizing the essential role of communities in strengthening coastal resilience through the restoration of coastal ecosystems, and helping NOAA meet the goals set in the America the Beautiful initiative by pursuing locally-led and collaborative conservation, equitable access to nature, and economic vitality.  

Expanding High-Speed Internet Access in Rural Communities

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has several programs that support the deployment of broadband infrastructure, reduce the cost of internet service, promote digital inclusion and promote broadband adoption, and advance equity to ensure that all individuals and communities, including rural communities, can access the internet to reap the full benefits of our digital economy. NTIA programs will consider current and future climate impacts, with support from NOA, to help improve longevity of the infrastructure.

Notable BIL programs include:

• Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program - $42,450,000,000. Provides funding for states, territories, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to use for broadband planning, deployment, and adoption projects. Grants | National Telecommunications and Information Administration (doc.gov)

• Middle Mile Grants Program - $1,000,000,000. This program funds the construction, improvement or acquisition of middle mile infrastructure to reduce the cost of connecting unserved and underserved areas to the internet backbone. More information is available on the NTIA’s website: Grants | National Telecommunications and Information Administration (doc.gov)

• Digital Equity Grants - $2,750,000,000. NTIA administers grants that promote digital inclusion and equity to ensure that all individuals and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of high-speed internet access and the digital economy. The goal of these programs is to promote the meaningful adoption and use of the internet across the targeted populations, including low-income households, aging populations, incarcerated individuals, veterans, individuals with disabilities, individuals with a language barrier, racial and ethnic minorities, and rural inhabitants. More information is available on the NTIA’s website:  Grants | National Telecommunications and Information Administration (doc.gov)

Programs that received both BIL and Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 funds:

• Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program - $2,000,000,000 (BIL) and $1,000,000,000 (FY21). The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program provides grants for broadband infrastructure deployment; affordable broadband programs; distance learning, telehealth, digital inclusion efforts; and broadband adoption activities. More information is available at BroadbandUSA: Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program | BroadbandUSA (doc.gov)

Notable programs funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 include:

• Broadband Infrastructure Program - $300,000,000. This funding promotes p broadband deployment programs to support broadband infrastructure deployment to areas lacking high-speed internet, especially rural areas. More information is available at BroadbandUSA: Broadband Infrastructure Program | BroadbandUSA (doc.gov)

Supporting Rural Energy, Environments, and Climates [2]

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a number of programs supporting ecosystem restoration, increasing coastal communities’ resilience to the impacts of climate change, and making investments in natural infrastructure – including communities in rural areas.

Notable BIL programs include:

• National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund Grants Program - $492,000,000. NOAA, in coordination with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, administers these grants through the National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF).  NCRF  invests in projects that restore, expand and strengthen natural infrastructure to protect coastal communities from the negative impacts of climate change and extreme weather events (e.g., flooding, storms), while also enhancing habitats for fish and wildlife. Such natural infrastructure includes coastal marshes and wetlands, dune and beach systems, oyster and coral reefs, forests, coastal rivers and floodplains, and barrier islands. More information is available at NOAA’s website: Funding Opportunities (noaa.gov)

• Habitat Restoration Grants -  $491,000,000. engages in habitat restoration by providing funding to restore marine, estuarine, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystem habitats, as well as by constructing and protecting ecological features that protect coastal communities from flooding or coastal storms. More information is available at NOAA’s website:  Funding Opportunities (noaa.gov)

• Marine Debris Grants - $150,000,000. Marine debris is one of the most pervasive global threats to the health of the ocean and our waterways, and increasingly to human health, and is an issue of growing local, regional, national, and international concern. The NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP) funds projects to help communities better understand the sources and impacts of marine debris, remove legacy debris, and prevent future debris to reduce stress on ecosystems. More information is available at NOAA’s website: Funding Opportunities (noaa.gov)

• National Sea Grant Program’s Marine Debris Grants - $50,000,000. NOAA has been involved in marine debris research, extension, and education for decades at the local level. These National Sea Grant funds will address local, state, and regional priorities by advancing innovative approaches to prevention and removal of marine debris, and by connecting academic, government, industrial, and entrepreneurial partners to transition these new approaches to application. These efforts will build on the existing strength of the network of 34 Sea Grant programs, located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Puerto Rico, and Guam. More information is available at NOAA’s website: Funding Opportunities (noaa.gov)

• Coastal Zone Management Grants - $207,000,000. Projects funded through NOAA’s Coastal Zone Management grants will protect and restore ecologically significant habitats, including lands that are critical to building community resilience against natural hazards, including storms, flooding, inundation, erosion, tsunamis, sea level rise and lake level changes. The restoration and conservation of these ecosystems will also help decrease economic losses from the impacts of such hazards to property and infrastructure, as well as provide economic benefits to coastal communities (e.g., increased tourism and recreation). More information is available at NOAA’s website: Funding Opportunities (noaa.gov)

• National Estuarine Research Reserve System Grants - $77,000,000. Projects funded through National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) grants will support NOAA’s efforts to build a coast that is more resilient to climate change and other threats. The NERRS is a network of areas used to study and protect coastal zones. This funding will support habitat conservation and restoration across these sites. More information is available at NOAA’s website: Funding Opportunities (noaa.gov)

• Fish Passage Grants - $400,000,000. NOAA will implement the BIL fish passage provision by providing technical assistance and funding through a competitive grant process over five years to restore fish passage under the Community-based Restoration Program. NOAA anticipates funding projects that eliminate in-stream barriers or improve outdated infrastructure (e.g., add fish ladders) to restore fish passage while applying a watershed approach that enhances fish passage and increases climate resilience throughout a waterway or ecosystem. More information is available at NOAA’s website: Funding Opportunities (noaa.gov)

• Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund Grants- $172,000,000. The Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund program’s objective is to supplement existing state and tribal programs for salmon and steelhead restoration and conservation by allocating federal funding to activities that provide demonstrable and measurable benefits to Pacific salmon and steelhead and their habitat. Eligible applicants are the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California, and Alaska, and federally recognized Tribes of the Columbia River and Pacific Coast (including Alaska). More information is available at NOAA’s website: Funding Opportunities (noaa.gov)