Congress lets broadband funding run out, ending $30 low-income discounts

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel made a final plea to Congress, asking for money to continue a broadband-affordability program that gave out its last round of $30 discounts to people with low incomes in April. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has lowered monthly Internet bills for people who qualify for benefits, but Congress allowed funding to run out. People may receive up to $14 in May if their ISP opted into offering a partial discount during the program's final month. After that there will be no financial help for the 23 million households enrolled in the program. The White House urged Congress to fund the program and blamed Republicans for not supporting funding proposals. Some Republican members of Congress have called the program "wasteful" and complained that most people using the discounts had broadband access before the subsidy was available. Chairwoman Rosenworcel said a FCC survey found that "68 percent of ACP households stated they had inconsistent or zero connectivity prior to ACP."