This week, The Ferguson Group Principal David Hoover brought his over twenty years of broadband experience to a May 18 panel hosted by the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative titled “Federal, State, and Local Broadband Funding Update.” The discussion focused on broadband funding provisions in the recently passed American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which Congress passed in December 2020. Panelists covered programs such as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Infrastructure Deployment, Tribal Broadband Connectivity, and Connecting Minority Communities grant programs, and guidance released in the U.S. Treasury Department’s Interim Final Rule for State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds regarding uses of funding for broadband projects. A recording of the webinar is available here. 

The Ferguson Group (TFG), a leading lobbying firm representing local government, public agency, private industry, and special district interests in Washington, D.C., is pleased to announce that Lane H. Dickson will be joining TFG as a Principal on March 2. 

On February 11, 2021, the Bureau of Reclamation announced FY 2021 WaterSMART Drought Resiliency Grant program awards. The Bureau selected 18 projects which intend to help communities in the western United States prepare to and respond to drought. Selected projects also support President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, and focus on increasing reliability of water supplies, improved water management, and providing benefits to fish and wildlife.

In total, the Bureau awarded $15.4 million across seven states. TFG assisted with three of the winning projects, helping clients to secure $2,550,000.