Senator Reverend Warnock Highlights Success of Major Federal Broadband Investments & More for Georgia Secured Through the American Rescue Plan, One Year After Relief Package Signed into Law

Statement

Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) highlighted how the American Rescue Plan he helped pass one year ago has strengthened broadband access for Georgians across the state. Thanks to Senator Warnock's advocacy, the law included $570 million in federal investments to bolster Georgia's broadband systems.

Last summer, Senator Warnock visited WavCom, a rural broadband provider in Waverly Hall to discuss the urgency of expanding access to rural broadband and to speak with local WavCom employees about the importance of providing reliable broadband access to citizens in rural and low-income areas of Georgia, as well as across the United States. Senator Warnock expressed the necessity of having a connected state with strong internet, cellular and radio services, highlighting the impacts it would have from education to agriculture.

"Broadband is in the 21st century what electricity was in the 20th century--essential. Georgia families can't thrive in our economy without reliable internet access," said Senator Reverend Warnock. "That's why I'm so proud to have secured more than $550 million from the American Rescue Plan to help bolster our broadband networks and am glad to see this money has already paid dividends."

The American Rescue Plan brought long overdue relief directly to the pockets of Georgians and cut child poverty nearly in half in Georgia and nationwide, kept essential workers on the job, dropped billions of dollars into schools to help them safely reopen and put billions into vaccine distribution so that every Georgian was able to protect themselves and their families from COVID-19.

Thanks to Senator Warnock's leadership, over the past year the American Rescue Plan has also provided the following relief to hardworking Georgia families and communities:

More than $4 billion to support contact tracing, provide PPE and repair ventilation systems in Georgia's K-12 schools so they could safely reopen;
More than $4.6 billion for the state government and more than $3.5 billion to local government entities to keep essential workers like teachers and public health officials on the job -- a total of more than $8 billion;
An additional $550 million that helped Georgians pay their rent and another $200 million to help families across the state pay their mortgages and utilities; and
A historic investment that expanded the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit programs, which cut child poverty in Georgia and across the nation nearly in half and put much-needed cash in families' pockets, in addition to direct relief payments.

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