After receiving FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s dire warnings about the loss of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) this week, lawmakers have begun working on a funding bill — the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act. CNN reports the previously unreported bipartisan legislation could be introduced as soon as today in both the House and Senate.
The measures are expected to allocate $7 billion in additional funding for the ACP, or $1 billion more than the White House proposed to Congress last year. The program has seen especially significant uptake in places as varied as California, Kentucky, North Carolina and Ohio, with at least six in 10 eligible households registering for the ACP in each of those states, according to the Tech Policy Institute, a Washington think tank.
The ACP works through ISPs to register and serve households whose income does not exceed 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines. Households also qualify if any member of the home participates in another federal aid program such as Medicaid, SNAP or school lunch programs; certain tribal assistance programs; or receives Veterans Pension or VA Survivors Pension benefits, Inside Towers reported.
Despite broad support for the program, however, any bill to extend the ACP faces an uncertain future. That’s especially true in the House, according to NewStreet Research Policy Analyst Blair Levin.
“The House Republicans attempting to demonstrate that they are cutting back on government spending makes re-funding the ACP very difficult,” Levin wrote in a client note. “It is unlikely the House Republican leadership will allow the bill to go to the floor.” Still, Levin added, if the bill did receive a House vote, it would likely pass due to the GOP’s slim majority.
In the Senate, the bill is led by Peter Welch (D-VT) and J.D. Vance (R-OH). In the House, the bill is cosponsored by Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Mike Lawler (R-NY). It’s also backed by Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), according to CNN.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
Reader Interactions