Senator Pat Roberts says he wants to see changes in the way a federal loan distribution program administers its limited funds. He accuses the Rural Utility Service (RUS), which administers the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program of wasteful and abusive spending.

For the worst instances, he cites examples found by the USDA Inspector General in September 2005 and also claims RUS funds were used in urban area, suburban developments, and towns that already had broadband access, thereby straying from the measure's original intent.

"High-speed Internet access is as important to rural communities today as interstate highways were in the twentieth century, and railroads in the the nineteenth century," said the Senator. "If we are to close the digital divide we need a comprehensive approach that effectively targets rural America."

Last Friday, the RUS proposed changes in the administration of the Broadband Loan Program which Sen. Roberts says, "do not sufficiently address the needs of rural, underserved citizens."

Sen. Roberts says he looks forward to addressing the issue when the Senate Agriculture Committee begins work on the 2007 farm bill.