Inslee Proposes $80B in Broadband Funding, Wants 'Big Tech' to Pay Into USF

legally obligated to pay into the fund.” Democratic FCC members have been pushing the commission to advance discussions on USF contribution revisions (see 1907110020). FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly don’t support including a fee on broadband access or usage in the USF contribution factor (see 1906250011). Adding major tech companies to the USF contribution pool will help fund “massive new investments in rural broadband connectivity,” said the plan. Inslee proposes $80 billion in direct federal broadband deployment funding, including $5 billion in “subsidies to low-income rural Americans to make sure internet is affordable even in these hard-to-serve areas.” Five other Democratic presidential candidates have proposed substantial broadband funding plans. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts seeks $85 billion, while South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg wants $80 billion (see 1908070070). Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York proposed $60 billion, and former Vice President Joe Biden seeks $20 billion. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has plans for $1 trillion in overall infrastructure funding, including rural broadband. Inslee backed increased funding for the USF E-rate program, additional funding for local 911 call center upgrades in association with FirstNet and “billions” of dollars “to guarantee that every tribal nation has access to quality internet.” He'd only appoint "FCC commissioners that support” restoring the commission’s rescinded 2015 net neutrality rules, noting his support for the Washington state law that restored protections there (see 1802280027).