NATOA and NACo Send Letter to Senate Leadership Urging Opposition to BTOP, BIP Funding Rescissions
July 8, 2010 1:42 PM
Today, the National
Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) and the
National Association of Counties (NACo) sent a joint letter to Senate leaders
asking them to oppose funding rescissions to the Broadband Technology
Opportunities Program (BTOP) and Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) overseen
by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and
Rural Utility Services (RUS) respectively.
Last week, the War
Supplemental Appropriations Bill (H.R. 4899) passed by the House contained a
last minute amendment that would rescind funding from a number of programs in
an effort to offset increased spending on the Afghanistan War. Included
in these cuts was $602 million in funding to BTOP and BIP (in total). The
Bill will now be considered by the Senate who previously passed a Supplemental
War Appropriations Bill that did not include the cuts.
In the letter, NATOA
President Ken Fellman and NACo
Executive Director Larry Naake urged Senate leaders to oppose the rescissions
to the BTOP and BIP programs, stating “the proposed rescissions to BTOP and BIP
would likely cost our citizens thousands of jobs that would not be created by
the program. Job creation was one of the central purposes of the ARRA and the
BTOP and BIP programs in particular. Budget cuts should be targeted at wasteful
spending and unnecessary programs – they should leave alone programs that are
intended to (and do) create jobs in a time when unemployment is such a
significant issue for our country.”
The letter also
highlighted the “dramatic success” of the BTOP and BIP programs, stating “the
impact these programs have had in community broadband development and job
creation has been obvious and substantial in our nation’s communities.”
