Congress owes it to Americans to fund the Affordable Connectivity Program

Last week, enrollment for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides discounts to low-income households struggling to afford internet service, was forced to close due to congressional inaction and lack of funding.

During the rollout of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Congress appropriated $14.2 billion for the ACP. The program goes hand in hand with the infrastructure bill’s $65 billion investment in updating and expanding high-speed broadband across the country, providing an incentive for internet service providers to build high-speed connections to previously underserved areas and helping to ensure that newly served households will be able to afford the service coming to them.

Since its launch in 2021, the ACP has helped over 23 million households in communities across our country, making a monumental difference in their ability to access crucial services such as educational resources, telehealth services, job opportunities and government programs. However, money for the program is now running out, and unless Congress reauthorizes the ACP soon, those households — and the thousands of good broadband jobs the infrastructure bill is slated to create — are at risk.

Members of the Communications Workers of America who build, maintain and support our nation’s communications infrastructure have seen firsthand the need for the ACP in our cities, suburbs and rural areas. We are committed to ensuring equitable access to reliable high-speed internet service and ensuring that the $65 billion investment in broadband buildout from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) fulfills the “jobs” part of this critical legislation. That means creating good jobs for workers across states throughout the country, with fair wages and benefits that will lift up more families.

Besides being a lifeline for low-income households, the ACP is key to the success of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s broadband investments. As providers evaluate building connections in unserved and underserved areas, they consider the economics of ongoing service to that area. If more Americans can afford internet service, there is more reason to build out to those areas — and more good jobs created to build and support new connections. But without the ACP, internet service providers will have less incentive to build high-speed broadband in areas that need it most — and we put at risk the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s historic investment in closing the digital divide.

Frankly put, it would be a massive mistake to curtail the very program that is helping to make broadband universally affordable at a time when cost is one of the biggest barriers facing households across the nation. About one-third of Americans who don’t have broadband access say it is because they are unable to afford it. If customers in low-income communities are unable to afford service, providers may lose the incentive to build out broadband in already underserved communities; this, in turn, could potentially leave hundreds of thousands of Americans without the life-saving services they need, and thousands of broadband workers without the jobs they rely on to support their families.

We cannot risk this historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to close our country’s digital divide by letting the ACP run out. Knowing how important this program is for families across the country, as well as the future of our economy, Reps. Yvette D. Clarke (D-N.Y.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) recently introduced the bipartisan Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024, which would provide $7 billion in funding for the ACP and allow this essential program to last through the end of the year. With internet access for millions of Americans and thousands of good-paying jobs on the line, Congress must act swiftly to keep this essential federal program funded.

In order to grow our nation’s economy equitably and sustainably, we must make broadband internet accessible to all Americans, no matter their zip code. Ultimately, making the internet more affordable would be a win-win for everyone – connecting millions of families to the services they need, while paying dividends in economic growth across the nation through the stability created by good-paying career-oriented jobs. It’s time we used our public dollars to fuel the public good.

Claude Cummings Jr. is president of the Communications Workers of America.