Congress orders broadband study for Appalachia—but no funding or action yet
H.R. 2474 — Expanding Appalachia’s Broadband Access Act · Filed by David Taylor (R-OH) · Introduced Mar 27, 2025 · Passed chamber
Your members of Congress
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What it does
This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study whether the Appalachian Regional Commission can use satellite technology to expand broadband access in Appalachia. The study will examine satellite broadband's capability for business use, its economic development impact, and its cost-effectiveness. The bill itself creates no new programs or funding—it is purely a fact-finding mandate.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a directive to the GAO to conduct and report on satellite broadband feasibility. It contains no appropriations, no regulatory changes, no new programs, and no direct financial flows—only a study requirement.
What the text implies
- Study results may influence future ARC broadband funding decisions, potentially shifting investment toward satellite solutions if cost-effective.
- Satellite broadband findings could affect rural broadband policy across multiple federal agencies beyond ARC.
- Study may reveal capacity gaps in ARC's current authority, potentially prompting follow-up legislation to expand its mandate or funding.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates no direct benefit or harm to citizens—it is a study mandate. However, the information gathered may inform future broadband expansion in Appalachia, which could eventually benefit rural residents. The study itself is a transparency and accountability measure, but its civic value depends entirely on whether Congress acts on the findings.
Named in the bill
Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), Government Accountability Office (GAO), Comptroller General of the United States, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Where it stands
- Mar 27, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 27, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management”
- Jan 21, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Jan 21, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote”
- Mar 24, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote”
- Mar 24, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Taylor moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $90,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 7 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
David Taylor, the sponsor, reported $453,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Large Urology Group Practice Association — $90,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (890 characters) on Jul 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress orders broadband study for Appalachia—but no funding or action yet” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr2474 Report an error
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