Approximately 23 million low-income households are on the brink of losing their $30 monthly subsidy for internet service after Congressional leaders failed to include funding for affordable connectivity programs in the final six spending bills. It seems like it is.
House and Senate negotiators announced Monday that they had reached a bipartisan agreement to pass spending and avoid a government shutdown. Details of the agreement were announced early Thursday morning.
But U.S. Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, an independent and supporter of subsidies, said: root fifty On Wednesday, it was announced that no funding to continue the program was included in any of the spending bills.
“This is really important,” said Welch, who co-sponsored a bipartisan bicameral bill in January to fund the Affordable Connections Program (ACP). “People will be depressed because they won’t get the $30 a month subsidy.” [for internet access]. And many of them will not return. ”
In fact, unless Congress takes action, funding for the program will run out at the end of April, according to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The FCC estimates that more than 17 million households would lose access to the internet or face service interruptions.
The agency has already begun denying hundreds of thousands of households seeking internet subsidies. According to FCC data, from January 2023 to January 2024, an average of 586,738 households per month, or approximately 11,720 households per state, enrolled in the program.
Congress is not expected to pass the final six spending bills, including the financial services and general government bill that funds the FCC, until just before the midnight Saturday deadline. Given the tight schedule, Congress may need to pass new short-term spending measures to give lawmakers time to pass legislation over the weekend.
An FCC spokesperson declined to comment on ACP funding because Congress has not yet voted on the remaining spending bill.
Funding programs has become a top priority for local governments. For example, Commissioner Monica Gordon of Cook County, Illinois, said at a National Association of Counties press conference in February that the assistance would be “critical to bridging the digital divide” for the county’s 350,000 households participating in the program. It plays a vital role,” he said.
“Access to affordable internet is essential for individuals and families to fully participate in modern economies and societies,” she said.
President Joe Biden asked Congress last October to approve $6 billion in funding for the ACP. And Welch said he will continue to push Congress to pass another bill to continue the program.
Sen. Patty Murray, the Democratic chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a supporter of the grants, did not mention the ACP at Wednesday’s press conference. But she said, “These are not bills that Democrats would write on their own.” These are the results of very tough negotiations. ”
