With internet subsidies drying up, Eastern Washington broadband users call on Congress to replenish funds

Congress established the Affordable Connectivity Program in November 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, providing $14.2 billion to expand an emergency broadband program that began in 2021. But those funds are running out. On Oct. 25, President Joe Biden asked Congress for another $6 billion to fund the program through the end of 2024, but despite bipartisan support, it appears that lawmakers may let the funds dry up amid disagreements over the best way to solve the problem of affordable internet access. A spokeswoman for Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said Congress established the ACP as an emergency measure during the pandemic and pointedly declined to voice support for Biden’s request to extend it. While Sen Cantwell “supports the president” and organizations that have called for the program to continue, “who recognize that emergency connectivity is critical in today’s digital age,” spokeswoman Ansley Lacitis said the senator is “committed to finding long-term solutions to internet access and affordability,” suggesting she favors a different strategy. Lacitis said Cantwell supports the government’s Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure program, which aims to connect local networks to regional and national ones, and efforts to improve maps to better inform decisions on federal broadband spending. Those investments, she said, would increase competition and lower costs in the long run. House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)  echoed the idea that other programs could make for more targeted and long-term solutions to improve affordable internet access. “In Congress, we can and must do more to improve access to broadband and make it more affordable, especially for families and businesses in rural Eastern Washington,” she said. “That starts with making sure we are using the most accurate (Federal Communications Commission) maps, targeting resources to truly unserved communities.” Her office said she is apprehensive about supporting additional ACP funding without first changing eligibility requirements to make sure the subsidy goes to those who truly can’t afford broadband access, while protecting against fraud and wasteful spending. As chair of the panel charged with oversight of telecommunications policy, Rep McMorris Rodgers has supported legislation to improve coordination among federal agencies involved in broadband funding. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) supports Biden’s request to extend the ACP “so that families who rely on it today aren’t left in the lurch.” “There is no doubt that broadband access is absolutely essential,” Sen Murray said, “and the federal government has an important role to play in making sure that every family, no matter their income, can get the high-speed internet access they need to do everything from get an education to hold down a job or access vital medical and mental health services.” She voiced support for longer-term solutions, including a bipartisan effort to reform the federal Universal Service Fund, which uses fees on long distance telephone calls to subsidize access for rural and low-income Americans, schools, libraries, and healthcare providers.