A Senate panel approved a bill that would fund the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) with $7 billion, bringing it closer to a floor vote. But chances of it passing are still slim, says Blair Levin.
Hopes came alive again in Congress last week that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which lapsed in June, could actually get funded.
First, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a House bill on Tuesday (July 30), matching the language of a Senate bill that would extend the ACP with $6 billion and modify the program.
On Wednesday (July 31), Democrats in the Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance an earlier bill – the ACP Extension Act – by attaching it as an amendment to the Plan for Broadband Act, legislation that would direct the NTIA to create a coordinated federal broadband strategy.
Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) led the charge to attach the ACP Extension Act, which provides $7 billion in ACP funding without program modifications, as an amendment.
"After weeks of deadlock, we finally have progress on the effort to keep internet access affordable for millions of seniors, veterans, families and students across America. We've been struggling to come together to extend this critical program, and today's passage of my amendment by the Commerce Committee is a step in the right direction. I hope my colleagues – on both sides of the aisle – will put politics aside and join me in working quickly to lift folks in Vermont and across America out of digital darkness," said Sen. Welch in a press release following the vote.
Road ahead
The committee's vote advancing the ACP legislation is the most significant step Congress has taken thus far to restore ACP funding. The ACP Extension Act was first introduced in January 2024 in the House and Senate with bipartisan backing but has not moved since. The ACP, which subsidized broadband for 23 million low-income households, offered partial funding in May and officially ended in June.
Still, despite last week's efforts to advance the legislation, passing the bill remains an uphill climb.
In an analyst note for New Street Research, Blair Levin pointed to the various hurdles the legislation would need to overcome. These include obtaining time on the Senate floor, which Levin calls "a precious commodity at this stage of the election season," as well as surviving a "likely Republican threat of a filibuster."
In the House, it would require Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to bring the bill up for a vote, "something he has shown no interest in," said Levin.
Levin put the prospects of ACP funding clearing any of those hurdles at "less than 50%."
It is notable that the Senate legislation, which passed the committee with only Democratic votes, was initially introduced with the support of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), the Republican nominee for vice president. Vance was not present at the Senate committee vote last week, making it unclear if he would have voted the bill out of committee or if he would support it on the Senate floor in his current capacity as former President Donald Trump's current running mate.
Further, since the introduction of the ACP Extension Act earlier this year, Vance has gotten behind a different Senate bill – the Secure and Affordable Broadband Extension Act – which would fund the ACP with $6 billion but restrict its eligibility and cut the one-time device subsidy. That bill has largely been seen as the more likely vehicle to gain Republican support.
In a statement following the Senate committee vote last week, Gigi Sohn, spokesperson for the Affordable Broadband Campaign, noted Vance's documented support for the ACP and called on Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to bring the bill up for a vote.
"Despite overwhelming bipartisan support – including from the Republican Vice Presidential nominee – low-income Americans are caught in the middle of political games without the help they need to stay online. American families need affordable internet access now, and the ACP is the best way to achieve this in the short term," said Sohn. "We are thrilled to see momentum towards funding this important program and we urge Majority Leader Schumer to put this bill on the floor. Let's do this."
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