Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8144

Quality Broadband for Connected Communities Act

Broadband: Faster Internet for Rural Communities

22 days ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill 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. No further actions are scheduled at this time.

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 still in the early stages of the lawmaking process and needs to pass through two committees.

Key Points

This bill updates the rules for a federal grant program that helps bring internet to rural areas. It requires new projects to provide faster speeds than what was previously allowed.
Under the new rules, internet providers getting these grants must offer download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second and upload speeds of 3 megabits per second. This is a big jump from the old requirements of 10 and 1.
People living in rural or underserved towns will benefit most. These changes ensure that when the government spends money on new internet lines, the service is fast enough for modern needs like video calls and online school.
The new speed requirements would start six months after the bill becomes law. This gives companies and local governments time to adjust their plans for building new networks.

Impact Analysis

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

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Mar 27, 2026House

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.

Mar 27, 2026

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

Quality Broadband for Connected Communities Act

Bill NumberHR 8144

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.