White House renews calls on Congress to extend internet subsidy program

The White House is pressing Congress to extend a subsidy program that helps one in six U.S. families afford internet and represents a key element of President Joe Biden's promise to deliver reliable broadband service to every American household.

“For President Biden, internet is like water,” said Tom Perez, senior adviser and assistant to the president, on a call Monday with reporters. “It’s an essential public necessity that should be affordable and accessible to everyone.”

The Affordable Connectivity Program offers qualifying families discounts on their internet bills — $30 a month for most families and up to $75 a month for families on tribal lands. The one-time infusion of $14.2 billion for the program through the bipartisan infrastructure law is projected to run out of money at the end of April.

“Just as we wouldn’t turn off the water pipes in a moment like this, we should never turn off the high-speed internet that is the pipeline to opportunity and access to health care for so many people across this country,” Perez said.