Rep. Lee Urges Congress, Biden to Continue and Expand the Affordable Connectivity Program
**For IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
Contact: Emilia.Rowland@mail.house.gov – 330.212.2065
Rep. Lee Urges Congress, Biden to Continue and Expand the Affordable Connectivity Program
(Pittsburgh, PA) – Today, Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12) sent a letter to the White House urging that continued funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) remain a priority amidst ongoing budget negotiations. As part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Federal Communications Commission was able to offer qualifying families with low- or no-cost internet.
“It is 2024. Everyone should have internet access. The Affordable Connectivity Program already provides no-cost or discounted internet for 50,000 families in #PA12, with 58,000 more families eligible.” said Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12). “This program meant more children being able to do their homework, people being able to keep in touch with their families and loved ones, or small-business owners being able to take their business online. I urge President Biden to continue prioritizing it in negotiations, and I’m continuing my fight in Congress to protect and expand people’s access to the internet.”
Background:
To this day, one in five households are not connected to the internet–shutting them out from educational, communication, and economic opportunities. To ameliorate this, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which partnered with Internet Service Providers to provide low-cost, accessible broadband for low-income households.
In PA-12, the Affordable Connectivity Program has:
- Provided benefits to 50,000 households, reducing broadband costs in the district by roughly $24,650,000 annually.
- In addition, there are 58,000 households are eligible through the ACP but have not yet enrolled.
- 90.2% of the district lives in an area where an internet service provider is providing a no-cost plan to ACP participants.
As of January 29th, there are 22,966,893 households total who are enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program nationally.
Since taking office in January, Lee, who serves on the House Oversight Committee and Space, Science and Technology Committee, has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $1 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $200 million for infrastructure, over $50 million for affordable transit, and over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs. Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 1,600 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.
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