The end of the Affordable Connectivity Program is almost here, threatening to widen the digital divide

In early 2023, Brookings Metro and other experts were warning that, without action, the United States was likely take the biggest step any country has ever taken to widen rather than close its digital divide. The reason? The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides a $30 per month subsidy for broadband to about 23 million homes, would run out of funds sometime in late April or May 2024. Now, we’ve arrived at that precipice. Extending the ACP is still a challenge, due to two obstacles. The first is that the ACP, like all programs, is not perfect. Some legislators will not vote for an extension unless the program is changed to limit eligibility and costs. It is late in the day to be negotiating such adjustments, but if such changes would result in ACP continuing to assist the lion’s share of recipients, it may simply be the inevitable consequence of Beltway sausage-making. But there is a second, bigger problem. Even though enough House Democrats and Republicans together favor an ACP extension, the current Republican House leadership is following the “Hastert Rule,” by which the Republican Speaker will not allow legislation to be voted on unless a majority of Republicans will vote for it. That is not the case today. But if members and their constituents understand how ending the program will likely raise the cost of government, increase illiteracy and crime, and decrease economic growth, that calculus could change. The country can’t afford to step backward. Congress should extend the ACP to make sure there is not a massive disruption in the lives of those currently enrolled, and in doing so, ensure the program’s economic and political benefits flow long into the future.