Imagine weathering this without Internet. Many are — and Congress should help.

The digital divide was a problem before the pandemic. Now it’s an existential problem for students who can’t access live-streamed classes, for the ill who can’t virtually consult with a doctor, for isolated individuals who can’t find human connection on their laptop screens. The burden, as ever, disproportionately falls on the low-income, rural and nonwhite. There’s more the government can do today, and there’s an opportunity to lay the groundwork for the days to come.

Reps James Clyburn (D-SC) and Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) have a massive proposal that aims to address the coverage issue from all angles. Their $80 billion bill recognizes that the coverage problem is actually two problems: deployment and affordability. Offering subsidies for broadband won’t do anything for communities that aren’t wired for access, and wiring the whole country won’t do anything for Americans who don’t have the money to spend on services. Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) has something different: a proposal that would require the Federal Communications Commission to form a national plan for broadband, updating a 10-year-old strategy based on the lessons we’re learning now. 

Congress should do whatever it can during this crisis to bring the Internet to those who don’t have it and to ensure that those who do have it don’t lose it. But it should also be working for a country after the crisis, forged by the crisis, with resilient, secure and universally available connection.