Friend,

You’ve heard a lot from me (and you’ll hear a lot more) about how the internet is an essential utility. Every fiber of my being screams that everyone should have the right and the means to access education, emergency services, work and trustworthy news as more of society shifts online.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) connects more than 21 million low-income households that deserve the same reliable access to the internet as anyone else. Unfortunately, an embarrassing lack of leadership in the House of Representatives derailed funding negotiations and may even result in another government shutdown. This chaos puts this oustanding program in serious jeopardy: The ACP will run out of money soon if Congress doesn’t renew its funding for it.

Let me put things in perspective in the last way I ever expected: The ACP is so widely successful and popular that even ISPs want Congress to save the program. I’m going to be nice and not point out that they’re fighting us tooth and nail on Net Neutrality because we need all the allies we can get to keep tens of millions of low-income households connected.

When we say the internet is an essential utility, we’re saying it’s a resource that is so critical to lives and livelihoods that it should never be treated as a luxury, a bargaining chip or an afterthought. We’d be horrified if Congress said someone doesn’t deserve to afford another glass of water or enough electricity to keep their heat on a little longer in the winter. Why should the internet be any different?

Please join us in demanding that lawmakers reinvest in the ACP right away.

Thank you for protecting the right to connect,

Heather and the rest of the Free Press Action team
freepress.net