Broadband funding caught up in debate over reopening schools

The debate over reopening schools amid the ongoing pandemic is spilling into negotiations over billions of dollars in new money to help students who lack home internet access. As Democrats in Congress push forward with a plan to provide $7.6 billion for a program that provides discounted laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots to schools and libraries, Republicans are questioning whether the funding is necessary when President Joe Biden has said he wants to reopen a majority of public schools in the coming months. At a markup of the House Commerce Committee’s budget reconciliation recommendations, which include the funding proposal, Republicans said providing additional money for remote learning would slow down the reopening of schools. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) offered an amendment that would only provide the funds to schools providing in-person instruction. “The hotspots are not the same, nor is the education that many students are receiving online,” said Rep. Walberg at the markup. “We owe it to our children not to mortgage their future on a $7 billion program that will starve them of valuable education.” Walberg’s amendment was rejected.