Reactions to Broadband Provisions Included in the COVID-19 Relief Bill

What Is in the $900 Billion Covid-19 Aid Bill  Here's how DC responded.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY): "The agreement invests $7 billion to increase access to broadband, including a new Emergency Broadband Benefit to help millions of students, families and unemployed workers afford the broadband they need during the pandemic."

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR): “Broadband connections are essential for Americans seeking to get new jobs, and to access school, health care and other government services. Ensuring working families can stay online will pay massive dividends for kids' education, helping people find jobs and jump starting the economic recovery next year.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai: "I applaud Congress for including in the coronavirus relief and omnibus funding legislation a number of provisions that advance critical national priorities in communications policy. I am pleased, for example, that Congress is providing the FCC with $1.9 billion to fund the program that we adopted earlier this month to ‘rip and replace’ insecure equipment in our nation’s communications networks. This program will strengthen both network security and our national security. In addition, this legislation gives the FCC the funding we need to implement our Digital Opportunity Data Collection; this is a critical step toward the FCC being able to implement both Phase II of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund as well as the 5G Fund for Rural America that the Commission adopted earlier this year."

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel: "This pandemic has demonstrated that access to broadband is no longer nice-to-have, it is need-to-have for everyone, everywhere. So it is terrific news that Congress has before it legislation that will boost connectivity during this crisis. Too many people in too many places are struggling without the ability to go online. With so much of modern life now dependent on internet access, no one should have to choose between paying a broadband bill and paying rent or buying groceries. Simply put, no matter who you are or where you live in this country, you should have access to broadband. Significantly, this legislative effort also includes much-needed funding for the Federal Communications Commission to map the full extent of the digital divide, to support telehealth efforts during the pandemic, and to secure communications by replacing vulnerable equipment in our networks. In addition, it authorizes the auction of mid-band spectrum and protects key airwaves used by first responders. Plus, there are promising new initiatives at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to help connect Tribal lands and minority communities. This legislation is only a start, but it is important because it is the beginning of what needs to be a national effort to connect 100% of us to broadband.”

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks: "With widespread vaccination on the horizon, we have so much to be thankful for this holiday season. But many Americans have struggled during this pandemic, including the tens of millions of Americans without broadband. The digital divide has morphed into the COVID-19 divide. For too many families, that means missing out on work and opportunities, using Wi-Fi in parking lots to complete schoolwork, traveling to in-person medical visits instead of using telehealth, and missing connections with friends and family. Low-income Americans, Tribal communities, and communities of color have borne those burdens disproportionately. That’s why I am pleased that this legislation prioritizes connecting these households. In recent years, many policymakers have focused on rural access as the key to curbing the digital divide. But we know that tens of millions of Americans do not have broadband simply because they cannot afford it. No family should have to decide between keeping the lights on or getting the household connected. I have long called on the FCC to focus on affordability, and I am committed to ensuring that this emergency broadband benefit quickly reaches the families that need it most. The bill also takes important steps towards expanding critical broadband access across Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), other Minority Serving Institutions, and their surrounding communities. These institutions are the cornerstones of our nation’s communities of color, including Black communities in the rural South. When I convened an HBCU Presidents’ Roundtable in May 2020, eight leaders from HBCUs across the nation told me of their need for equitable investments in the digital age to ensure they can continue empowering their students, their faculty, and the towns they serve. I am glad that Congress has responded. Finally, as we look ahead, we must recognize that internet inequality held millions of Americans back from their full potential long before COVID-19. There is more work to do to bring affordable broadband to everyone—now and after we’ve put this crisis behind us."

Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate Gigi Sohn: "The inclusion of a monthly emergency broadband benefit in the COVID-19 relief bill is historic. The United States Congress, with bipartisan support, has recognized that high-speed broadband Internet in the home is essential for full participation in American society, its economy, its education and health care systems, and its civic life, and that government must ensure that everyone is online, especially during this pandemic. The main reason that people in the US don’t have broadband at home is cost. US broadband prices are among the highest in the world, averaging between $68 and $84 a month. The emergency broadband benefit, especially if combined with Lifeline and state broadband funds, will certainly move the needle towards connecting many of the tens of millions of people in the US who don’t have home broadband. The money for broadband deployment on tribal lands is a long-overdue investment for the most underserved communities in the nation.  Although we can see the end of the pandemic on the horizon, the digital divide won’t go away when COVID-19 does. The 117th Congress should quickly pass House Majority Whip Clyburn’s Affordable, Accessible Internet for All Act, which would make the $50 monthly broadband benefit permanent."

Greg Guice, Government Affairs Director at Public Knowledge: “This stimulus package will prove to be a lifeline for consumers struggling to afford their broadband connection while the pandemic rages on. Connectivity is especially vital during this critical time, as Americans continue working and learning from home. These subsidies will directly support those experiencing financial loss during the crisis, as affordability remains the key barrier to connectivity. Although we’re disappointed that Congress did not provide funding to keep students connected as they study from home, these broadband subsidies will still benefit students and families at risk of losing their connectivity. We hope the Federal Communications Commission will use its E-rate program to address the needs of students under a Biden Administration so they don’t fall behind their peers from no fault of their own. No American should be forced to go without food, water, electricity, or essential communications over broadband. We urge Congress to pass this bill to keep everyone connected while we continue working on closing the digital divide.”

Free Press Action Vice President of Policy and General Counsel Matt Wood: “The stimulus bill’s broadband benefit is a historic achievement. It will connect tens of millions of people and families to the high-speed home-internet service they need to safely access remote health care, school and jobs, as well as the news and virtual family gatherings that are so crucial during this worsening pandemic. This benefit is a much-needed response to the lack of affordable broadband choices, which is the primary factor driving the U.S. digital divide. The lack of affordable options is a huge barrier to universal adoption; it gets far less attention than problems like rural deployment. But the inability to pay for services that are already available in their neighborhoods is the biggest reason why nearly 80 million people lack adequate home internet — including 30 percent of Black people, 30 percent of Latinx people and 34 percent of Indigenous people in the United States. Passing this legislation will mark a major victory in efforts to bridge the digital divide, with a flexible and robust benefit structured along the lines of what Free Press Action has called for since March and the beginning of the COVID-19 shutdowns. Most significant is how Congress has shifted its attention to the affordability crisis that predated the pandemic but has become even more dire over the past 10 months. This focus on affordability is thanks to the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, Representative Clyburn, Chairman Pallone, Representative Veasey and other House Democrats who sponsored and passed affordability measures like this one earlier this year, as well as Minority Leader Schumer, Chairwoman Cantwell and Senator Wyden, who sponsored companion measures and led Senate negotiations. Talks with Republican leadership fell through on other broadband initiatives that should be in this bill but aren’t. Still, this new initiative is a remarkable accomplishment, and it took both sides of the aisle to agree to a benefit program. It’s clear that lawmakers across the political spectrum recognize how critical it is to ensure that people can afford to connect to the internet, especially when there’s a need to conduct so much of our daily lives online.”

Jonathan Schwantes, Senior Policy Counsel for Consumer Reports: “If it wasn’t glaringly important before, the pandemic has confirmed the vital need of a broadband internet connection — one that is reliable, affordable, and for some of us, simply available. Too many Americans are not able to access or afford broadband. This is especially true for people who’ve lost their jobs or can’t find regular work since the coronavirus shuttered many businesses. When all of us are working, teaching and getting our medical care online, it is an imperative to ensure everyone has connectivity,” said Marta L. Tellado, President and CEO of Consumer Reports. “This is a good step, but if we truly want to ensure everyone has an opportunity to reboot the American dream in this digital era, there is far more work that needs to be done in the near term to invest in new and upgraded infrastructure.”