A lesson from the pandemic: Every American household needs and deserves reliable internet service

The digital divide presents an obvious problem, but there is an obvious solution: Making the necessary investments to bring high-quality broadband to every zip code in America. Investing in broadband will jump-start economic growth by creating good-paying jobs, ensure our children are not falling behind in their coursework, empower small businesses, improve life on our farms, and protect our most vulnerable seniors by expanding access to telehealth. This isn’t an easy undertaking, but we can’t be afraid to make a big, bold investment. 

President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan calls for that big and bold investment in the form of $100 billion over eight years dedicated to building out our broadband infrastructure and bringing quality broadband service to all.  Additionally, the American Rescue Plan Act included $7.1 billion for the Federal Communication Commission’s E-rate program, which will help get and keep students, libraries, and teachers connected.  But we cannot stop there. On top of the investments in the American Jobs Plan, we should improve the way we determine whether a given area has access to service.  Making our federal broadband maps more accurate is a simple, yet important step toward universal service and closing the digital divide. We should also look at the Computer and Internet Access Equity Act, legislation I’ve introduced with Rep Danny Davi (D-IL), and the Promoting Access to Broadband Act, a bill I’ve introduced with Rep Sean Maloney (D-NY), that would increase broadband access to underserved communities by expanding underutilized federal programs already in place.