S.Amdt. 1503

As folks who care about keeping our elected officials honest and working for the everyday people, we need to know what our lawmakers are tinkering with behind closed doors. Mr. Welch submitted an amendment, known as SA 1503, which is tied to the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and sets budget levels through 2034. Put simply, this amendment creates a deficit-neutral reserve fund relating to promoting rural broadband deployment.

What It Aims to Change or Add

• The amendment adds a new section to the end of title III of the budget resolution.

• It allows the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate to revise the allocations of a committee or committees, aggregates, and other appropriate levels in the resolution.

• It lets the Chairman make adjustments to the pay-as-you-go ledger for specific types of legislation like bills, joint resolutions, amendments, amendments between the Houses, motions, or conference reports.

• These changes are meant for legislation relating to promoting rural broadband deployment, as long as that legislation would not increase the deficit over the period of the total of fiscal years 2025 through 2034.

• That promotion of rural broadband deployment may include prohibiting the rescission or reallocation of funding under the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment Program.

• It may include ensuring the National Telecommunications and Information Administration distributes previously allocated and appropriated funds to States in a timely fashion.

• It may also include prohibiting the rescission of funding under the ReConnect Program of the Department of Agriculture.