Biden Blames Hill Republicans for Failure on ACP Stopgap Money
President Joe Biden called out congressional Republicans Saturday for Capitol Hill's failure so far to allocate stopgap funding for the FCC's ailing affordable connectivity program. The funding would keep ACP running through the end of FY 2024. Congress approved the…
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Further Consolidated Appropriations Act FY 2024 minibus spending package last month without ACP money (see 2403210067). Advocates are eyeing other vehicles for appropriating the funding ahead of ACP's existing allocation running out in May (see 2403280001). “For months, I've called on Congress to extend the program,” but “Republicans in Congress still haven't acted, putting millions of their own constituents in a position where their internet costs could go up -- or they could lose connection altogether,” Biden tweeted. He proposed an additional $6 billion for ACP in an October supplemental domestic Appropriations request (see 2310250075). Republicans "have called the program ‘wasteful,’ and now threaten to cut it,” Biden said: “We can't let that happen” given it has “helped over 23 million households save $30-$75 each per month on their monthly internet bills.” House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., later echoed Biden, tweeting “House Republicans are playing political games and refusing to extend this vital program before it runs out of funding.”