Don’t pull the plug on internet access for 23M families
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Connecting state and local government leaders
COMMENTARY | No family should be forced to choose between one essential and another. And they don’t have to, as long as Congress acts to renew the Affordable Connectivity Program.
It’s easy to take the internet for granted. Many of us use it for work, others for school. We use it to schedule, or even attend, doctors’ appointments. It helps us stay up to date with what's going on in our communities and communicate with loved ones. It’s an integral part of our lives. It’s not a luxury; it’s an essential utility, like water or electricity.
But millions of Americans could soon lose internet access if Congress doesn’t act to fund the Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP. The program provides low-income participants up to $30 a month to help them afford broadband internet. Families on tribal lands can receive up to $75 each month to help them afford the internet. Full funding for the program expired at the end of April. Now, nearly 1-in-5 Americans could be affected.
As mayors, we supported creating this program as part of the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law because we understood the depths of the digital divide in cities. And we know how devastating it will be if Congress abandons those it’s helped.
That doesn’t have to happen. A bipartisan group of lawmakers already introduced the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act in both houses of Congress. But it hasn’t moved much since. While Congress dawdles, millions of Americans are anxiously watching the clock tick down on their lifeline to the internet.
Beyond Congress, support for the ACP cuts across partisan lines. Wide swaths of Americans support the ACP because a broad spectrum of Americans benefit from the program. Nearly 60 million Americans qualify for the ACP. More than 23 million Americans rely on this program for internet access. Half of them are military families. Around 1-in-5 are senior citizens.
Participants use the ACP for vital services. According to an FCC survey of program participants, half of them use the internet to work or apply for jobs, almost three-quarters use it to access health care services and three-quarters of young adult subscribers use it for school.
When families lose access to the ACP, many will be put in impossible positions. They can choose to either forgo reliable internet access or make cuts in other essential areas. That means choosing between risking losing their job or falling behind on utility bills. It means choosing to risk their children falling behind in school or failing to put enough food on the table.
No family should be forced to choose between one essential and another. And they don’t have to, as long as Congress acts. Congress has the power to take this burden off the shoulders of 23 million American families.
America’s cities know just how important internet access is. Expanding access to broadband has been a priority in our cities for years. We made real progress in making sure families could reliably use the internet for work, school or to stay in touch with loved ones. Seattle and Mesa, Arizona, both have resources to help families find affordable internet. In Mesa, when 1-in-5 residents reported difficulty affording internet access, we expanded access to public Wi-Fi. In Seattle, Black, indigenous, and other people of color are 2.5 times less likely to have internet. We’ve helped more than 38,000 families there sign up for the ACP, helping them get the internet access they need. We’ve come a long way since the beginning of the COVID pandemic when families struggled to find internet access for their children to go to school. Losing the ACP puts all that progress in jeopardy.
We’re not alone either. Rural areas rely on the Affordable Connectivity Program—25% of ACP participants live in rural areas. Every state and nearly every congressional district has residents who benefit from the ACP today and who may lose access to the internet in a matter of weeks.
No matter where you live or who you vote for, access to broadband internet is essential. We’ve worked tirelessly to expand it in our cities. We proudly supported a United States Conference of Mayors resolution calling on Congress to continue funding the ACP. We don’t want to see that access wiped away for families across the country.
The Affordable Connectivity Program has been one of the most effective broadband benefit programs to date. Congress should renew the program, continue funding it and build on its success, not pull the plug on internet access for 23 million families.
Bruce Harrell is the mayor of Seattle and chair of the United States Conference of Mayors’ Technology and Innovation Committee. John Giles is mayor of Mesa, Arizona, and a trustee of the United States Conference of Mayors.
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