The "ReConnecting Rural America Act of 2025" amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a new ReConnect program, providing financial assistance for broadband expansion in rural areas. This program offers grants, loans, and combinations for constructing, improving, and acquiring facilities to deliver high-quality broadband service, defined as at least 100 Mbps symmetrical . Projects must serve areas where at least 75 percent of households currently lack access to 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream. The bill mandates priority for projects in territories where at least 90 percent of households lack this minimum access, with additional priorities for areas like those with small populations, high low-income rates, or supporting precision agriculture. Grant-only awards are specifically available for Tribal organizations, colonias, persistent poverty counties, and socially vulnerable communities . Eligible entities include state and local governments, Indian Tribes, cooperatives, and corporations, with the Secretary able to require a cost share up to 25 percent, waivable for certain projects. The Act authorizes $650 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 for the new ReConnect program, alongside an additional $350 million annually for direct loans under previous program rules. It also rescinds and reappropriates unobligated balances from a prior broadband funding act to support these efforts. The Secretary is required to review and adjust minimum broadband service levels every two years, and the authority to make new awards terminates after September 30, 2030.
The "ReConnecting Rural America Act of 2025" amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a new ReConnect program, providing financial assistance for broadband expansion in rural areas. This program offers grants, loans, and combinations for constructing, improving, and acquiring facilities to deliver high-quality broadband service, defined as at least 100 Mbps symmetrical . Projects must serve areas where at least 75 percent of households currently lack access to 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream. The bill mandates priority for projects in territories where at least 90 percent of households lack this minimum access, with additional priorities for areas like those with small populations, high low-income rates, or supporting precision agriculture. Grant-only awards are specifically available for Tribal organizations, colonias, persistent poverty counties, and socially vulnerable communities . Eligible entities include state and local governments, Indian Tribes, cooperatives, and corporations, with the Secretary able to require a cost share up to 25 percent, waivable for certain projects. The Act authorizes $650 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 for the new ReConnect program, alongside an additional $350 million annually for direct loans under previous program rules. It also rescinds and reappropriates unobligated balances from a prior broadband funding act to support these efforts. The Secretary is required to review and adjust minimum broadband service levels every two years, and the authority to make new awards terminates after September 30, 2030.