Congress·In Committee·S. 4459

Expanding Appalachia’s Broadband Access Act

Broadband: Study on Satellite Internet for Appalachia

Apr 30·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A senate committee

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being sent to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works for review. It is actively moving forward, but no future votes or hearings have been scheduled yet. There is no companion bill listed for this legislation at this time.

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Could go either way

This bill has support from both parties and asks for information rather than a large amount of money, which usually makes it easier to pass.

Key Points

This bill asks the government to look into using satellites to bring high-speed internet to the Appalachian region. It focuses on whether satellite technology is a good way to help local businesses grow.
Government investigators will check if satellite internet is reliable enough for work and if it actually helps the local economy. They will also look at whether this is a cheaper or better option than other types of internet.
The Appalachian Regional Commission, which helps 13 states from Mississippi to New York, would use the results to decide if they should fund more satellite projects.
A report with the findings would be due to Congress one year after the bill becomes law. This is a first step toward potentially changing how the government funds internet in rural mountain areas.

Impact Analysis

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

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Apr 30, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

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

Apr 30, 2026

Introduced in Senate

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

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Expanding Appalachia’s Broadband Access Act

Bill NumberS 4459

Congress119th Congress

ChamberSenate

Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

D: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.