(NAFB) – USDA’s Rural Development Undersecretary Xochitl Torres Small says the agency is extending the application deadline for funding under the ReConnect Program to March 9. The funds are intended to expand high-speed internet access to millions of people across rural America.

“Today’s extension of the ReConnect Program deadline will help ensure that all applicants have the time they need to secure this critical funding,” Torres Small says. “I encourage all eligible parties to apply for this assistance.” USDA is making $200 million available in ReConnect Program loans, $250 million in loan/grant combinations, $350 million in grants with a 25 percent matching requirement, and $350 million in grants with no matching requirements for tribes and projects in socially vulnerable communities.

In the coming months, USDA plans to begin making available an additional $2 billion in rural broadband funding allocated to USDA by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.