Lawmakers and advocates make last-ditch push to extend affordable internet subsidy

Twenty-three million families in the U.S. will have bigger internet bills starting in May. That’s because a federal broadband subsidy program they’re enrolled in is nearly out of money. Dozens of people joined Biden administration officials, advocates and Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) at a Washington public library to make a last-ditch plea to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program, a subsidy created by Congress and touted by President Joe Biden as part of his push to bring internet access to every U.S. household. The program, which is set to expire at the end of May, helps people with limited means pay their broadband bills. Assistance will be slashed starting in May, when enrolled households will only receive partial credits toward their internet bills. Barring any Congressional action to infuse the Affordable Connectivity Program with more cash, the subsidies will end completely at the end of the month. Welch and other lawmakers from both political parties introduced legislation earlier this year to extend the program through the end of the year with $7 billion. The White House has pushed for an extension but it has not happened so far.