Millions of Americans could soon lose home internet access if lawmakers don’t act

As soon as May, more than 23 million US households––currently receiving Affordable Connectivity Program funding––risk being kicked off their internet plans or facing skyrocketing bills that force them to pay hundreds more per year to get online, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The looming disaster could affect nearly 1 in 5 households nationwide, or nearly 60 million Americans, going by Census Bureau population estimates. Such broad disruptions to internet access would affect people’s ability to do schoolwork, seek and do jobs, visit their doctors virtually or refill prescriptions online, or connect to public services, widening the digital divide between have and have-nots and potentially leading to economic instability on a massive scale. Lawmakers have known for months about the approaching ACP deadline. Yet Congress is nowhere close to approving the $6 billion that President Joe Biden says would renew the ACP and avert calamity for tens of millions of Americans.