A group of 21 tax officials from 18 states is urging the Department of Treasury (DOT) to disband the IRS’ new Direct File pilot program, citing potential tax filing problems they said could arise from confusion on the part of taxpayers.

The Treasury Department has approved $354 million of funding for three new projects that will bring high-speed internet to 190,000 homes and businesses in Arizona, Tennessee, and Wyoming.

The Treasury Department on Jan. 26 announced the approval of broadband projects totaling $793.7 million in four additional states under the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF): Alabama, Kentucky, Nevada, and Texas.

In a bid to connect rural communities to high-speed broadband services, Kansas will use $15.7 million in Federal funding to connect more than 1,900 homes, businesses, schools, healthcare facilities, and other public institutions to broadband in the next 24 months.

The Treasury Department has approved more than $90 million in funding to help Vermont expand affordable broadband access across the state. The funding, which comes from the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF), will help Vermont close its digital divide by connecting nearly 14,000 homes and businesses to reliable, affordable high-speed internet.

Over the last year, the Federal government has allocated billions in funding to help close the digital divide nationwide. Multiple Federal entities, including the Treasury Department and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), have been tasked with overseeing the allocation of Federal funds.

While business owners told members of the House Small Business Committee at a March 4 hearing how they use blockchain in their operations, a question from the committee’s chairwoman led to talk of bigger operations that could benefit from blockchain ­– state governments.