President Joe Biden has reportedly unveiled the US administration's latest plans to connect roughly 16,000 households and businesses in North Carolina to high-speed internet, headlining it with a projected $82 million-worth of funding for the project.
As per the administration's official statement, the project is a part of the American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, wherein the Biden-Harris Administration is spending over $3 billion in North Carolina to connect everyone to affordable, dependable high-speed internet and save expenses for families.
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The statement claims that thousands of well-paying manufacturing and construction jobs are supposedly being generated by these investments in states like North Carolina in order to create Made-in-America fiber-optic cable, which will be used to expand the nation's internet infrastructure.
Additionally, 885,000 households in North Carolina are claimed to be saving money on their monthly internet fees because of the Biden-Harris Administration's Affordable Connectivity Program.
Looking forward, Biden reportedly said that the work his government is doing in North Carolina on infrastructure, high-speed internet, and other issues is happening in communities all over the nation.
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High-Speed Internet as a Necessity
The administration also reportedly plans to use $1 billion from the American Rescue Plan to link over 300,000 more households and businesses to high-speed internet by the end of 2026. By 2030, all Americans are expected to have access to high-speed internet nationwide.
The Carolina Journal adds to the story, reporting that the invesment comes at a critical time as the President, at the start of his speech at the Abbots Creek Community Center, asserted that access to reasonably priced high-speed Internet is as necessary now as it was a century ago.
The President maintained that a large number of individuals now work from home and require the high-speed internet, in addition to kids completing homework, telemedicine patients scheduling doctor's appointments, and online church watchers.
In addition, Biden said that $11 billion had been spent on building new roads, bridges, clean energy, high-speed internet, and clean water in North Carolina during his presidency. Of these, $110 million had been allocated for the Alligator River Bridge in the Outer Banks, and an additional $1 billion was planned for a new rail line that would link Raleigh, North Carolina, with Richmond, Virginia.
Biden's Reelection Campaign
President Biden's announcements and visit comes amidst his reelection campaign against former US President Donald Trump. Associated Press notes that gaining North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes is a major goal for Biden's reelection campaign.
Back In 2020, the Democrat reportedly lost the state to Trump by a mere 1.34 percentage points. It is anticipated that they would face each other again in November.
Though rapidly expanding North Carolina is seen as a potential presidential contender, Democrats have only won the state's electoral votes twice in the previous forty-plus years: Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Barack Obama in 2008.
Both in 2016 and 2020, Trump won the state; in the latter case, he overcame growing Democratic strongholds in and around Raleigh and Charlotte thanks in part to a large participation of Republicans in rural and non-urban counties.
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