EAST STREET LOUIS, Ill. — Unless Congress passes a supplemental budget request this spring, the White House plans to provide more than 200,000 households in the greater St. Louis area with monthly payments to help households below the federal poverty line pay for internet access. They were warned that they would lose their benefits.
New enrollment in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), part of the 2021 Infrastructure Act, ended last month, and without funding, the benefit of up to $30 a month will cease to be fully available in April, according to Federal Communications. The commission warned consumers last week. .
The Biden administration requested $6 billion from Congress as part of its supplemental budget request last fall.
“This means internet connectivity for students trying to learn from home. This means access for people seeking mental health care. This is a vital lifeline for working families. And what the federal government is facing is inaction on this,” Rep. Nikki Budzinski said last month after an East St. Louis town hall meeting attended by nearly every household in the city. Use the program.
“We have a lot of students who go to night school to earn credits. Students who can’t go to night school are stuck at home, and some are homeless. They don’t have access to it at school. Do they do it when they’re at home?” said Carmilia Prude, technology integration specialist for the East St. Louis School District.
This could mean missing school work and assignments, and could affect a child’s ability to apply for college or scholarships, Prude said.
According to the FCC, there are 395,504 households enrolled in the program in Missouri and 704,532 in Illinois.
By congressional district, Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, which includes St. Louis City and parts of St. Louis County, has 102,244 ACP households, according to White House data. In Illinois, Budzinski’s 13th District has 76,604 people, the most in the Metro East and the fourth-most in the state’s delegation.
Spectrum News’ parent company, Charter Communications, is one of the internet providers lobbying to extend the program’s lifespan.
Last week, Budzinski and Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) were added to the list of more than 180 co-sponsors of the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate.
