Letter to the Editor - Tester, thanks for work on internet

Editor,

Whether you’re binge-watching Netflix or you’re a business owner or a teacher, the internet is an essential component of what you do each day. I know this firsthand. I edited and wrote for online publications for a number of years before I retired.

So I have to applaud the efforts of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester to ensure that all rural Montanans have access to high-speed internet service. Recently, Sen. Tester learned that the USDA Rural Broadband Access Loan Guarantee program had approved only three loan applications in the last three years, and he immediately asked USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to identify and fix the problems. The program is supposed to administer low-interest loans and loan guarantees to construct and upgrade broadband infrastructure in rural areas.

Sen. Tester has also introduced the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018, which would direct the Federal Communications Commission to identify gaps in high-speed internet connectivity for farmers and ranchers and make sure precision agriculture is widely available.

And now our senator from Big Sandy is asking local and tribal governments, school districts, hospitals and business organization to identify infrastructure priorities as Congress begins to draft a nationwide bill. “I want to hear from every Montana community about what they need, whether it’s a new roof on their school or faster internet access,” he wrote in a letter seeking comments. He’s been traveling all over the state holding roundtable meetings to ask people about infrastructure needs face to face.

I think we’re very fortunate to have Jon Tester as our senator. I think we can all agree that he always puts the needs of Montanans first. Sen. Tester makes sure that Montanans’ needs are not overlooked in the nation’s capital.

Karen Datko

Havre