NCTA Statement Regarding Congress Passing the 2008 Farm Bill

5/15/2008 -- Statement of NCTA President & CEO Kyle McSlarrow, National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA):

“We applaud the leadership of Senators Harkin and Chambliss and Representatives Peterson and Goodlatte for their hard work to gain passage of the 2008 Farm Bill. This legislation sharpens the focus of the Rural Utilities Service’s Broadband Loan Program by limiting loans in areas where competition already exists, and targeting loans to areas without widespread access to broadband service. The 2008 Farm Bill represents a strong step in ensuring that government broadband deployment programs give the highest priority to areas that do not yet have access to broadband service.”

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NCTA is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable industry, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation's cable television households and more than 200 cable program networks. The cable industry is the nation’s largest broadband provider of high-speed Internet access after investing more than $130 billion to build a two-way interactive network with fiber optic technology. Cable companies also provide state-of-the-art digital telephone service to millions of American consumers.

Source: National Cable & Telecommunications Association