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2 February 2024
WASHINGTON (KSNW) — Funding for the national Affordable Connectivity Program will soon run out if Congress doesn’t act.
The program assists low-income families across the country in obtaining internet access. The Federal Communications Commission says 132,015 households in Kansas could lose their internet access if Congress doesn’t act to fund the program.
“The Affordable Connectivity Program is connecting millions and millions of households across the country. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created this program, our largest-ever effort to make broadband affordable nationwide, but we now are on the brink of letting that success slip away,” says FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a news release. “Disconnecting millions of families from their jobs, schools, markets, and information is not the solution. We have come too far with the ACP to turn back.”
The agency says nearly 23 million households in rural, suburban, and cities across the country are enrolled in the program. If Congress doesn’t act, the program will have to stop accepting new sign-ups starting Feb. 8.
Full assistance will end in April, with only partial assistance available in May. The proposed bipartisan Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act would provide $7 billion to extend the program.
Research published in the American Economic Journal shows access to broadband internet in low-income households has a positive effect on job opportunities. Research by the non-profit organization Common Sense says the program has benefited all Americans, not just those who enrolled in the program.
The Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act is currently in the hands of the Senate Appropriations Committee.