Sen. Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Meng (D-NY) Call on Congress to Include $1 Billion for Emergency Connectivity Fund

Sen Markey and Rep Meng urged Congressional leadership to include $1 billion in the disaster supplemental division of the year-end omnibus for the Federal Communications Commission's Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), which supports devices and broadband services for students and educators to connect to the internet at home. This funding would be sufficient for the FCC to fund every valid application it received in the most recent application window. In May, the FCC announced that it had received more than $2.8 billion in requests for ECF funds in the most recent application window – far more than the estimated $1.5 billion in remaining funds. Without Congressional approval of supplemental funds, the impact will fall hardest on the low-income, disadvantaged, and rural communities that relied most heavily on the ECF.  The end of the Emergency Connectivity Fund will effectively turn an important investment in our students into stranded assets and a wasted opportunity.