The following article was published by Broadband Breakfast:
The House of Representatives voted 286-134 to pass a $1.1 trillion spending package on Friday morning, omitting funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program and the ‘Rip-and-Replace’ initiatives.
In response to the release of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, Gigi Sohn, representing the Affordable Broadband Campaign, expressed profound disappointment regarding the exclusion of funding for the ACP from the minibus spending package.
Sohn highlighted the consequences of congressional inaction, emphasizing that more than 23 million families stand to lose their broadband subsidies in May. In the statement, she lamented the political maneuvering that jeopardizes the program, which she said will force approximately 60 million Americans to confront difficult choices between internet access and essential needs like food, rent, and utilities.
“It’s embarrassing that a popular, bipartisan program with support from nearly half of Congress will end because of politics, not policy,” Sohn said.
The full article is available here.