Senator Cantwell Pushed for Tribal Broadband & FCC Telehealth Program in Relief Bill

Senator Maria Cantwell was behind the inclusion of $1 billion for tribal broadband and $250 million for FCC Telehealth Program in the COVID relief bill.

"Indian Country needs a lot of connectivity. So getting more broadband into those communities will be very helpful," said Senator Cantwell.

Grants from the bill will be distributed to tribal governments for broadband deployment, telehealth, distance learning and broadband affordability initiatives.

She is also responsible for pushing additional funding for the Federal Communications Commission's telehealth program as the pandemic surges.

"Telehealth is a critical path during the COVID crisis to make sure that communities have the ability to get expert advice into our homes, into our communities, to connect people with information," said Senator Cantwell. ". So this telehealth grant is a very important program in the State of Washington."