On Sept. 3, a bipartisan supermajority in the North Carolina General Assembly appropriated $30 million for rural broadband to help rural areas impacted by the pandemic. The next day, Gov. Roy Cooper issued a press release, taking credit for our work, with the following statement: “This budget followed my recommendations on school enrollment funding and invested in important areas like high-speed internet access…” Seventy-five days after the legislation passed, and 74 days after Gov. Cooper touted the investment, his administration quietly ripped this money and broadband from the hands of rural North Carolinians.