U.S. Chamber of Commerce Letter on Broadband Connectivity and the Homework Gap

The US Chamber of Commerce urgently calls on Congress to provide the funding necessary to ensure students without sufficient access to digital tools do not fall behind. In addition, Congress should fully fund the “Broadband DATA Act” signed into law in March, which would allow the Federal Communications Commission to better facilitate long-term digital resilience.

To urgently address [the pressing issue of the digital divide], Congress should appropriate timely and temporary funding in a technologically-neutral manner outside the existing E-Rate and other Universal Service Fund programs to provide: 1) wired or wireless connectivity; 2) service equipment such as modems, routers, and hotspots; and 3) devices like tablets, computers, and smartphones.