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Community Connect Grant Program Act of 2026
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to reauthorize the Community Connect Grant Program, and for other purposes.
Summary
- Raises the broadband speed thresholds that define underserved rural areas to 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream transmission capacity.
- Updates the speed requirements for eligible service areas without adequate broadband to 25 Mbps and 3 Mbps (previously 10 Mbps and 1 Mbps).
- Expands eligible broadband services to include service that will be provided in the future under enforceable commitments for network deployment from other broadband funding programs.
- Extends the authorization of the Community Connect Grant Program from 2023 to 2031.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
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![Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]](https://media.civicgate.org/people/d/politicians/S001203.thumb.jpg)
Sen. Smith, Tina (D-MN)
Actions (2)
- Apr 27, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. · senate
- Apr 27, 2026 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 27, 2026
Ms. Smith introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
A BILL
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to reauthorize the Community Connect Grant Program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Community Connect Grant Program Act of 2026”.
SEC. 2. COMMUNITY CONNECT GRANT PROGRAM.
Section 604 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb-3) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking “less than the” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following: “less than—
“(A) a 100-Mbps downstream transmission capacity; and
“(B) a 20-Mbps upstream transmission capacity.”; and
(B) in paragraph (2)—
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking “an area” and inserting “a rural area”;
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking “10- Mbps” and inserting “25-Mbps”; and
(iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking “1- Mbps” and inserting “3-Mbps”;
(2) in subsection (d)(2)(A), by striking “area; or” and inserting “area (including any eligible broadband service that will be provided in the future in the eligible service area pursuant to enforceable commitments for network deployment applicable under another broadband funding program); or”; and
(3) in subsection (g), by striking “2023” and inserting “2031”. <all>
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