The E-BRIDGE Act (H.R.1752) has been signed into law as part of the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (S. 4367). The bill would remove hurdles under the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants and allow the EDA to award economic development grants for public-private partnerships to carry out broadband projects, including efforts to extend, expand, or improve high-speed broadband service through planning or training, land acquisition or development, or acquisition, construction, or improvement of broadband facilities. The bill specifies that the EDA take into consideration underserved markets and geographic diversity of grant allocation.
