of this coming thursday. some of your party s top priorities are gridlocked in congress. national voting rights legislation. the historic build back better spending bill. what do you plan to tell voters if these key items don t pass, come the midterm elections in november? i intend to tell voter what is we have done in this year, with democrats in charge in the house, and certainly with the support of my vote and my advocacy, we have passed the american rescue plan. that s a bill that delivered billions of dollars locally to our communities to support our schools. bringing kids back safely. new hvac systems, now counselors in our schools. it s a build that providing billions of dollars across the country for access to broadband activity, certainly a priority across the rural communities that i represent. it s a bill that sent money directly to our localities so that they can continue to recover from the pandemic.
the 50% money rule for a second round of grants. government officials tell us they were forced to make tough decisions given the shear volume of applicants, some 2,200. and there is just not enough stimulus for all of the projects. the agencies did already fund 168 of them, but there is more than $5 billion yet to be distributed. the deadlines are fast approaching and due later this month. very important to some of the communities, just vital. broadband activity is a global economic indicator, and broadband access could super economic growth and improve health care and allow farmers to improve their productivity, and a recent survey show 46% of homes in rural areas do not have