Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton welcomed approval by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee of the Fiscal Year 2007 Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill, which includes $200,000 that the Senator secured, for the construction and expansion of the St. Lawrence County Regional Rural Broadband project in Canton.

The bill will proceed to the Senate floor for consideration following Full Appropriations Committee approval this afternoon. Following consideration and passage on the Senate floor, the bill will head into a Conference Committee where the House and Senate will resolve the differences between their two bills. Following conference, the bill will again be sent to the House and Senate for final approval, after which it will be sent to the President for his signature.

“Today, one of the greatest catalysts for fostering economic opportunity and opening up new markets is access to the Internet. For many people in rural communities, the digital divide still needs to be closed. For people to realize the benefits of this technology for their education, employment and training, the infrastructure must be built. St. Lawrence County’s regional broadband initiative will help bring the power of technology into thousands of people’s lives, with the hope that every family can have the tools for success in today’s technology-rich economy,” said Senator Clinton.

The funds will be used for a demonstration of a scalable rural broadband solution involving private and public entities. This program will utilize existing electrical distribution poles as wireless equipment mounting sites to accomplish a wireless carrier network. This proposal will serve three primary communities, including Ogdensburg, Heuvelton, and Canton.

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