Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – The Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility (E-BRIDGE) Act, was signed into law on Friday as part of the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (S. 4367).  S. 4367 was approved by both House and Senate in December 2024.

The E-BRIDGE Act removes hurdles for broadband projects under Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants, including difficult last-mile efforts that often delay rural broadband deployment. It also ensures that local communities can partner with the private sector in carrying out broadband projects and gives communities more flexibility in complying with their funding match requirements.

By helping to increase the reach of broadband to rural and economically distressed communities, the E-BRIDGE Act will help attract new business and support current businesses in distressed regions of the country, lay the groundwork for economic recovery in these areas, and better prepare these communities for future disasters.

The E-BRIDGE Act was introduced in the House on March 23, 2023, during the 118^th Congress by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO), along with Reps. Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR), Tracey Mann (R-KS), and Michael Guest (R-MS). Chairman Graves also introduced the E-BRIDGE Act in the 116^th and the 117^th Congresses, and the legislation continued to gain broad bipartisan support leading up to its being signed into law last week.

“The E-BRIDGE Act has been an ongoing priority of mine for the last six years, and I’m extremely pleased to finally see it being signed into law,” said Chairman Sam Graves. “Unfortunately, too many of our communities, particularly in rural America, still lack broadband access. In some cases, just completing that ‘last mile’ is what stands in the way of connecting people to a job they need. The E-BRIDGE Act will help spur projects that attract jobs and businesses to expand economic development and opportunity in rural and poor communities.”

Read more about the E-BRIDGE Act here.  The text of the E-BRIDGE Act can be found in section 2223 of the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (S. 4367) here.