Since Dec. 31, 2021, internet access has been more affordable for many seniors and low-income families across the country. That’s because of the Affordable Connectivity Program, a federal program allowing families in need of internet access to get it with a $30 monthly discount. In today’s economy, that’s enough extra cash for people to partly fill up their gas tank, get more groceries, buy a public bus or get a haircut.
Tribal , low-income families, seniors on fixed incomes and students who received free lunch at school were eligible. This help was especially important during the pandemic, when we as a society learned the benefits of having access to everything online. It enabled shut-in seniors to have access to telemedicine and online grocery shopping and provided some students, for the first time ever, access to online learning.
But this will change in coming weeks when funding runs out. Families who need it most will suddenly get shut out. How do we expect them to suddenly scrape the funds together to keep the connectivity going or in some cases force them to learn to live without it?
Now Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, and some of his colleagues are calling for bipartisan action by Congress to prevent 23 million households nationwide from losing internet access to valuable news and information by replenishing these funds. It’s just wrong to pull the plug on them — especially during an election year when Americans need such access the most.
