- On April 28, 2020, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-OH), and U.S. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) urged FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to work directly with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that the millions of Americans who are now eligible for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program or Medicaid due to job loss or reduction in income are informed that they are also eligible for the FCC’s Lifeline program. Read the letter here: https://bit.ly/2SeHYvK.
- On April 30, 2020, U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the Energy & Commerce Committee, and U.S. Congressman James E. Clyburn (D-SC), House Majority Whip and Chairman of the House Democratic Rural Broadband Task Force, along with 10 members of the Rural Broadband Task Force and Energy & Commerce Committee, announced the House Democratic Plan to Connect All Americans to Affordable Broadband Internet. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3b3G33I.
- On May 13, 2020, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) along with Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the Supporting Connectivity for Higher Education for Higher Education Students in Need Act to help ensure that college and university students with the greatest financial needs can access high-speed internet during the coronavirus pandemic. The Act would appropriate $1 billion to establish an Emergency Higher Education Connectivity fund at the National Telecommunications Information Administration to help ensure that college and university students at historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and other minority-serving institutions, as well as rural-serving institutions, have adequate home internet connectivity during the coronavirus pandemic. The bill provides federal support for these colleges and universities to directly help students in need pay for at-home internet connections and equipment such as routers, modems, Wi-Fi hotspots, laptops, tablets, and internet-enabled devices to students. Under the bill, institutions that receive funding must prioritize students eligible for need-based financial aid, such as Pell Grants. Read the press release here: https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=D619C87A-1EF8-4AF5-90F6-04ED0E68B764. Read the bill here: https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/5/a/5aca554b-527d-457f-8de1-03c88cd4b9c8/2863F0C3A5ED63AC78CF9B3635ED9694.051220billtext.pdf.
- On May 13, 2020, Representatives Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18), Doris Matsui (CA-6), G.K. Butterfield (NC-01), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Marcia Fudge (OH-11), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-At-Large), and Alma S. Adams (NC-12) introduced legislation to establish a new program to support college students who are unable to participate in distance learning. The Supporting Connectivity for Higher Education Students in Need Act provides $1 billion to colleges and universities to pay for at-home internet connections for students in need. Read the press release here: https://eshoo.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-eshoo-matsui-butterfield-castro-fudge-blunt-rochester-adams-and-sen.
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