The ACP Program Is About to Run Out of Money, Disconnecting Millions
Original photo by Flickr user WOCinTech Chat
On Jan. 25, nearly 23-million households received notice that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) — which helps ensure they can stay online — will run out of money as soon as April unless Congress provides additional funding.
What is the ACP?
The ACP program was created by 2021’s bipartisan infrastructure bill and is a major step toward closing the digital divide — which impacts Black, Brown and Indigenous communities the most. The ACP provides a $30 monthly subsidy, or $75 for those on Tribal lands and other “high-cost” areas, to people living near the poverty line or enrolled in federal-aid programs like Medicaid and SNAP. Meanwhile, demand for the program continues to rise and some estimates suggest that upwards of 50-million households are eligible to participate. (You can fill out the ACP program application here if you’re interested in signing up.)
Access to high-speed internet isn’t a luxury; it’s a human right. Without it you can’t access basic things like education, health care, jobs, government services, information about what’s going on in your community … or this blog you’re reading right now!
The ACP program — which is the first national program in the United States dedicated to subsidizing the cost of high-speed internet access — enjoys bipartisan support inside and outside of Congress. But, of course, we know that doesn’t mean that lawmakers will do the sensible thing and appropriate more money to fund this critical program.
That’s where you come in.
What you can do to save the ACP program
This won’t be the first or last time dysfunction on Capitol Hill jeopardizes people’s ability to make ends meet. But that doesn’t make it any less unacceptable.
That’s why millions of people across the country are urging Congress to pass the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act, which will appropriate $7 billion to the ACP and keep families connected through the end of 2024. Call today and tell your lawmakers to pass this bill.
No time to make a call? Make your voice heard and sign our petition today.