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U.S. Rep. Tom Marino, who represents much of our region, has introduced legislation that we admit may not move much of the public's meter.
But it is very necessary.
Marino recently introduced legislation to aid in deploying rural broadband to unserved and underserved areas.
The Rural Broadband Connectivity Act would change daily individual and business lives in our region dramatically.
The legislation provides incentives for private investment in broadband expansion in much of Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District.
It provides a tax credit to entities that make investments in broadband infrastructure that will provide service to rural areas.
Without that incentive, businesses are not going to make investments to provide rural broadband in areas where few people will sign up for service.
With the incentive for investment through the tax code, this part of rural America - much of it in the 10th Congressional District - can be brought up to high speed, if you will, when it comes to broadband access.
In today's world, individuals and businesses without the same broadband access as everyone else can't compete. That's a reality in much of our region.
The only way to bring these individuals and businesses onto the same playing field when it comes to opportunity is to give them the same access to information and ability to traffick information as everyone else.
This should not be a partisan issue, even in the midst of Washington's highly politicized divisiveness.
We are guessing there are multiple rural areas, particularly in the midwest and mountain states, that are dealing with the same uneven playing field as rural Pennsylvania when it comes to broadband access.