UPDATE Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), is circulating a discharge petition to try to force the House to vote on her Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act. The measure would appropriate $7 billion to keep the FCC program for low-income households to receive discounts for broadband service running through the end of this year. That’s $1 billion more than the White House proposed last fall, Inside Towers reported.
Congress approved the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act FY 2024 minibus spending package last month without ACP money, Inside Towers reported. Clarke’s petition will likely help ACP backers in their push to advance the funding proposal out of the House and increase pressure on lawmakers to act before the program’s current funding runs out in May, lobbyists told Communications Daily. Advocates acknowledge they still face headwinds in the Senate, where leaders continue eyeing alternative vehicles for the appropriation.
In the meantime, the money for the ACP is dwindling. The FCC said this week that April is the last month recipients will receive the full benefit, which is $30 per month for non-Tribal households and up to $75 per month for Tribal households. The maximum amount drops to $14 and $35, respectively for May. The benefit for an ACP connected device drops from $100 per device to $47 for May.
The agency encourages providers to keep ACP customers connected. Providers “may, but are not required to, offer a discount larger than the maximum May partial reimbursement amount” to help defray the benefit change, says the Commission. Providers can also mitigate the financial burden for ACP households by offering to move them to low-cost internet service plans that providers already offer or that they newly adopt as an offering to low-income consumers, according to the agency.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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