(NASSAU COUNTY, N.Y.) Over 100 members of Congress, including Nassau County's representative, Kathleen Rice, signed a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday asking the president to further expand broadband internet to underserved communities in his American Jobs Plan infrastructure proposal.
According to a press release from North Carolina Rep. G. K. Butterfield, 120 members of the House Democratic Caucus signed the letter to express their support for "a permanent, federally funded broadband benefit program for financially vulnerable families."
The letter added that the temporary Emergency Broadband Benefit program, which Congress recently authorized, was "an important first step," but that "by providing a permanent benefit we can ensure [financially vulnerable families] are empowered with a choice to pick the service that best fits their needs, while also promoting competition."
Rice specifically mentioned how the pandemic demonstrated the importance of widespread internet access, given its role in remote learning, work and telehealth.
“The pandemic has made it clear that good Internet access is not a luxury, but a necessity,” Rice said in the press release. “That is why the government should consider investing in a permanent broadband benefit program to ensure more American families get connected and fully participate in the modern economy.”
“Millions of Americans lack access to the internet. Some don’t have access due to lack of broadband infrastructure in their communities, while others simply cannot afford it,” Butterfield said. “The pandemic has highlighted the importance of broadband connectivity for all Americans. In order to provide equal opportunity for all Americans, a permanent broadband benefit is a crucial step to finally close the digital divide.”
“Students and workers need high-speed, reliable internet access – and it needs to be affordable,” California Rep. Scott Peters said. “We should take the lessons we learned from the pandemic and apply them to our post-pandemic efforts to lower costs for broadband access. For our country to realize our 21st-century potential, we must ensure low-income communities can afford high-quality connectivity.”
The letter concluded, "We have an opportunity in the upcoming infrastructure package to solve these long-standing challenges with smart, targeted investments in broadband that will benefit rural, urban, and suburban areas alike. Now is the time to act to connect every household to the 21st century economy. We look forward to working with you to achieve this goal."
Read the entire letter by clicking here.