ACP Extension Sees Glimmers of Hope in Congress [CNET]

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The Affordable Connectivity Program expired in May, leaving 23 million low-income households with higher internet bills.

The Affordable Connectivity Program received a jolt of light at the end of July, when the Senate and House both made progress towards an extension.

On July 30, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill in the House that would provide another $6 billion in funding for the program and change who is eligible for the program. The next day, Democrats in the Senate Commerce Committee voted to attach ACP funding to the Plan for Broadband Act — the most significant progress an ACP extension has made yet. Still, neither of the bills has been brought to a vote, and passing either remains an uphill battle.

When it expired in May, the Affordable Connectivity Program had over 23 million households enrolled. Anyone with income levels at 200% or below of federal poverty guidelines was eligible for the $30 monthly discount (or $70 for those living on Tribal lands).

More than 1 in 5 households with an internet subscription in the US utilized the ACP, and it’s almost unanimously supported by voters: Polling from Public Opinion Strategies and RG Strategies shows that 78% of voters want to extend the ACP, including 64% of Republicans, 70% of independents and 95% of Democrats. 

A recent study from the Chamber of Progress also found ACP subscribers will lose $10 billion in work opportunities, $1.4 billion in telehealth savings and $627 million in student benefits if the program expires. 

But in a gridlocked Congress, popularity is no guarantee of survival. Voices as far across the aisle as President Joe Biden and Republican Vice Presidential nominee J.D. Vance have called for an extension over the past few months, but nothing has come close to a vote yet.

 “It would be a significant waste of government funds to let this program lapse,” Senate commerce broadband subcommittee chair Sen. Ben Ray Luján said during a hearing on May 2. “It would mean letting all of the time and resources the federal government and our state and local partners have put into standing up the program and enrolling 23 million households go to waste.”

Here are some of the other bills that are currently on the table in Congress.

ACP funding added to spectrum auction bill in April

While previous ACP extension bills have died on the vine, Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, is trying a different tactic: tagging on ACP funding to a bill that’s already in committee. 

On April 26, Cantwell, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, filed an amendment to her drafted legislation for wireless spectrum auctions, called the Spectrum and National Security Act. The bill would provide $7 billion to keep the ACP running — up from $5 billion in a previous version — with the funding coming from wireless spectrum auctions. With its current enrollments, that would extend the ACP for a little under 10 more months.

The bill was expected to go through a markup session in the Senate Commerce Committee on May 1 but was pulled abruptly the night before. According to Communications Daily, a website that covers telecom regulation, Cantwell told reporters she decided to postpone the session when “we had a bunch of amendments filed” that would have taken too much time to work through. It’s unclear when the bill will be revisited, with Cantwell only saying that it would be on the agenda “at a future time.”

Fetterman proposes permanent ACP funding

Days after Cantwell added the ACP amendment to her bill, Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, introduced his own bill to extend the program. The Promoting Affordable Connectivity Act would permanently fund the ACP by removing it from the appropriations process. Like Lifeline (see below), the ACP would be moved under the auspices of the Universal Service Fund. 

According to Fetterman’s press release, internet providers would pay for the program themselves on a permanent basis. That noted, the full text of the bill is not yet available, so details are sparse. 

Bipartisan bill from January continues to stall

While calls for extending the ACP have grown more urgent in recent weeks, there has been one piece of legislation on the table for months. The Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024 was introduced in January by a bipartisan group of senators and representatives and would provide an additional $7 billion in funding. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Appropriations on Jan. 10, and despite 230 co-sponsors in the House, there’s been no action taken since then. 

Other low-income internet options

As 23 million households face higher internet bills this month, there are several options available for relief — albeit none on the scale of the ACP. Here are some other low-income programs available across the country:

• Lifeline: This federal program was originally created to help with phone bills, but you can now use the $9.25 monthly benefit on home internet, too. Lifeline has stricter income requirements than the ACP — you’ll have to be at or below 135% of federal poverty levels compared to 200% for the ACP — but it’s been permanently funded for decades, so you won’t have to worry about your bill suddenly increasing. 
• Low-income internet plans: Internet providers like AT&T, Spectrum, Verizon and Xfinity all offer their own discounted plans for low-income customers. They typically run between $10 and $30 per month and have similar income requirements as the ACP. 
• State and local resources: Some states and cities have their own internet subsidies in place, which you can usually find by Googling “[location] internet resources.” Oregon, for instance, provides an enhanced Lifeline benefit of $19.25 monthly, while cities like Chicago and New York provide discounted internet for families with children in school or living in public housing.