When the clock struck midnight on May 31, more than聽23 million聽low-income households were dropped from a federal internet subsidy program that for years had helped them get connected.
罢丑别听Affordable Connectivity Program聽was created in 2021, in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, to help people plug into jobs, schools and health care by reducing their internet costs by up聽to $75聽a month.
Helping connect households was particularly important in rural America, where telehealth services are often leaned on to fill health care gaps and address provider shortages.
But that aid evaporated last month when聽Congress聽didn鈥檛 move to keep it funded.
鈥淚nternet bills for millions of Americans are increasing because Congressional Republicans failed to act,鈥澛�White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson聽emailed me.
Some lawmakers have argued that too much of the subsidy money went to people who don鈥檛 need it. Last month,听搁别辫耻产濒颈肠补苍蝉听and听顿别尘辞肠谤补迟蝉听introduced proposals to address those concerns. The ACP debate continues, with a funding measure expected to be part of the聽Spectrum and National Security Act of 2024, under consideration Wednesday by the聽Senate鈥檚 Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
The day before the subsidies expired, White House officials offered a consolation prize, announcing they had worked out a deal with 15 internet providers that agreed to keep offering low-cost plans. The announcement isn鈥檛 really new, though, nor as robust as a previous deal.
In 2022, the聽Biden administration聽announced that 20 companies would offer plans for聽$30 a month聽or less.聽AT&T,听Verizon听补苍诲听Comcast聽are among the players continuing to sell low-cost plans the administration says will benefit an estimated聽10 million听丑辞耻蝉别丑辞濒诲蝉.
Of course, low-cost plans still come with bills consumers must pay. And without the connectivity program鈥檚 monthly assistance,听77 percent聽of households that benefited from it will have to change plans or drop their internet connections,听Jessica Rosenworcel, chair of the聽Federal Communications Commission, wrote in a letter to lawmakers.
鈥淎 consistent theme is that many ACP recipients are seniors on fixed incomes struggling to pay competing bills and make ends meet,鈥� she wrote.
Those affected are people like聽Myrna Broncho, 69, a听厂丑辞蝉丑辞苍别-叠补苍苍辞肠办听tribal member who talked with me聽at the聽Fort Hall Reservation聽in southeastern聽Idaho. She had qualified for a聽$75聽subsidy, enough to eliminate her internet bill after she signed on last year.
Without the subsidy, she鈥檒l have to 鈥済o back on my tight budget.鈥� Retired and ranching, Broncho said she uses the internet for shopping, paying bills and keeping track of her health care.
Rosenworcel鈥檚 letter arguing for renewed funding for the ACP was sent to a handful of lawmakers, including聽Sens. Maria Cantwell聽(D-Wash.), who chairs the commerce committee, and聽Ted Cruz聽(R-Tex.), who has proposed greatly narrowing eligibility for the program.
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