As the clock continues to tick as broadband stimulus hopefuls await the outcome of their fate, it is clear that out of the nearly 2,200 applicants, one group has definitely not made the cut.

 

Applications from the controversial ACORN Institute, a group that uses research and training to address the problems in low-income communities identified through years of community organizing, has been deemed “ineligible for funding” by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

 

According to a White House memo from Oct. 7 to executive branch agencies, guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget cuts off funding to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries or allied organizations.

 

“To the extent your agency already has determined that funds should be obligated or awarded to ACORN or its affiliates but has not yet entered into any agreement to provide such funds to ACORN or any of its affiliates, your agency should not provide such funds, or enter into any such agreements to do so,” the memo said.

   

NTIA officials said on Wednesday that it received almost 2,200 applications requesting nearly $28 billion in funding for proposed broadband projects reaching all 50 U.S. states, five territories, and the District of Columbia. NTIA Press Secretary Jessica Schafer said the department is “now aiming” to announce the winning applicants in mid-December.

 

Federal officials reportedly have attributed the delay to the large amount of applicants: the nearly 2,200 applied for almost four times the amount of money available in total. The original notice of funding availability stated that the “NTIA expects compliance with all documentation requirements from successful applicants within 60 days of award announcement.”

 

As TMCnet recently reported, elected officials are taking issue with the NTIA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service. Influential senators reportedly expressed concerns about the broadband stimulus program during an oversight hearing last Tuesday.

 

“There shouldn’t be two of you here. Only in the federal government would we have two people doing the same thing,” Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., reportedly said during the hearing, referring to RUS Administrator Jonathan Adelstein and NTIA Chief Larry Strickling. “If I could wave a magic wand I would morph you into one person and combine your two agencies with the snap of fingers.”

 

In July, Vice President Joe Biden announced the availability of $4 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act loans and grants to bring broadband service to un-served and underserved communities across America. “This is the first round of Recovery Act funding aimed at expanding broadband access to help bridge the technological divide and create jobs building out Internet infrastructure,” read a statement released by the White House.

 

The Recovery Act provided a total of $7.2 billion to the NTIA and the RUS to “accelerate broadband deployment in areas of the country that have been without the high-speed infrastructure,” according to U.S. government officials. Of that funding, NTIA will utilize $4.7 billion to deploy broadband infrastructure in “un-served” and “underserved” areas in the U.S., expand public computer center capacity and “encourage sustainable adoption” of broadband service. RUS will invest $2.5 billion to facilitate broadband deployment in rural communities.