For Immediate Release
Contact: Laura Withers, 703-351-2087, [email protected]
Arlington, Va., (April 7, 2017)—Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R–W.Va.) this week said broadband will play a big role in the future economic development of West Virginia and that she supports Congressional efforts to create new public-private partnerships to bring better service to more rural Americans.
Capito is co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, which was formed last year to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural America. Since being elected to the Senate in 2014, she has risen to positions of influence on the Senate committees on Commerce, Science, & Transportation and Appropriations. In 2015 she launched the Capito Connect Plan recognizing high-speed internet access as a pillar of our 21st Century infrastructure and a gateway to economic growth in rural America.
“Through the course of my 2014 campaign when I was going all throughout the state, the stories about the inability to get service ... really reinforced to me we’ve got a real problem here,” Capito said in an interview for NTCA’s “Broadband Beat With Shirley Bloomfield.” “If we’re going to transition our economy, if we’re going to make West Virginia a place that attracts young entrepreneurs, we’ve got to have this stool of economic development and infrastructure.”
Speaking to the interest among senators from all parties in working on the Senate Broadband Caucus, Capito was hopeful that the bipartisan support in Congress for fostering broadband deployment would lead to legislative action.
“It’s about setting priorities,” she said. “And if we’re going to ever work together I think we need to set national priorities for ourselves, and that’s where the money flows.”
The interview is the latest in NTCA’s series, “Broadband Beat With Shirley Bloomfield,” featuring telecom industry leaders and topics relevant to rural communities. This and all episodes are available online. For more information about the video series, visit www.ntca.org/broadbandbeat or the NTCA YouTube channel.
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NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association is the premier association representing more than 800 independent, community-based telecommunications companies that are leading innovation in rural and small-town America. NTCA advocates on behalf of its members in the legislative and regulatory arenas, and it provides training and development; publications and industry events; and an array of employee benefit programs. In an era of exploding technology, deregulation and marketplace competition, NTCA’s members are leading the IP evolution for rural consumers, delivering technologies that make rural communities vibrant places in which to live and do business. Because of their efforts, rural America is fertile ground for innovation in economic development and commerce, education, health care, government services, security and smart energy use. Visit us at www.ntca.org.