Congress·In Committee·H.R. 5037

Middle Mile for Rural America Act

Rural Internet: Extending Middle Mile Infrastructure Funding

10 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

The Middle Mile for Rural America Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It has been sent to the House Agriculture and Energy and Commerce committees for review. The bill is actively moving forward as it waits for these committees to consider its provisions.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Could go either way

This bill has support from both parties and addresses a common problem in rural areas. However, it is early in the process and must pass through several committees before it can become law.

Key Points

This bill extends federal support for building middle mile internet infrastructure in rural parts of the country. This infrastructure acts like a digital highway that connects local internet providers to the global web.
The plan moves the expiration date for this funding from 2023 to 2031. This gives the government and private companies more time to finish projects that bring high-speed internet to remote areas.
People living in rural communities are most affected because this helps local internet providers offer faster and more reliable service. Without these backbone connections, it is often too expensive for companies to serve small towns.
This effort is led by Feenstra and has support from both Republicans and Democrats. It aims to make sure that people living in small towns have the same digital opportunities as those in big cities.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Aug 26, 2025House

Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Aug 26, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Middle Mile for Rural America Act

Bill NumberHR 5037

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.