On Tuesday, April 23rd at 9:30 a.m. CDT, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, AL-07, will host an Affordable Connectivity Roundtable at the Brighton Community Center. The event will bring together families enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and participating internet service providers to highlight the benefits of the ACP and the need for Congress to extend it. Without action from Congressional Republicans, the ACP will expire at the end of the month and 1 in 5 Alabama families will see higher internet costs or lose access to the internet altogether.
413,668 Alabama families (1 in 5) are currently saving money on their monthly internet bills through the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a benefit program created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more. The ACP provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers.
Rep. Sewell fought to include funding for the ACP in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and was the only member of Alabama’s Congressional Delegation to vote in favor of it. To date, Alabama has received at least $245 million in funding from the ACP, and Alabama families are saving roughly $12.3 million total each month on their internet bills.
Despite its success, the ACP will expire at the end of April. Without action from Congressional Republicans, hundreds of thousands of Alabama families will see higher internet costs or lose internet access altogether.
Rep. Sewell is fighting to keep the ACP alive and protect cost savings for Alabama families. In accordance with President Biden’s request, she is cosponsoring H.R. 6929, the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act, which would provide $7 billion to extend the program. Rep. Sewell and her Democratic colleagues sent a letter to Speaker Johnson urging him to bring H.R. 6929 to the House Floor for a vote.
WHO: Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell, AL-07
WHAT: Affordable Connectivity Roundtable
WHEN: Tuesday, April 23, 2024 | 9:30 a.m. CDT
WHERE: Brighton Community Center, 3810 7th Ave. Brighton, AL 35020
The event is open to the public.
