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Reps. Veasey (TX-33) and Blunt Rochester (DE-AL) Introduce Legislation to Build and Expand Broadband Access for Low-Income, Communities of Color

March 9, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Reps. Marc Veasey (TX-33) and Lisa Blunt-Rochester (DE-AL) introduced legislation that will build and expand on his 2020 Emergency Broadband Benefit bill to bolster more access to broadband for low-income and people of color. The Enhanced Emergency Broadband Act authorizes additional funds to the Emergency Broadband Benefit program—a free or low-cost internet service to low-income individuals that have disproportionally been impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic, provides states with funding to better implement the program, and ensure coordination between agencies to expedite the process.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has caused much of our lives to take place primarily online and exposed many blind spots in our current system," said Rep. Veasey (TX-33). "We need to work smarter, not harder to ensure communities across our country can gain access to a fast, reliable internet connection—especially for low-income and people of color who already face obstacles when trying to access critically-needed broadband services. My legislation will help overcome these obstacles by providing funding to states that will allow them to do their job in a more efficient manner. This will ensure our nation's broadband and wireless providers can provide this critically important service at no or low cost to individuals."

"As our country has continued to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that reliable access to the internet is as essential as access to electricity. From work, to school, to our social lives –broadband, while necessary, isn't reliably available to all Americans," said Rep. Blunt Rochester (DE-AL). "That's why I'm proud to join with Congressman Veasey in introducing the Enhanced Emergency Broadband Act , which would authorize additional funds to be put to use to give low-income individuals and families that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, access to reliable internet service."

The Emergency Broadband Benefit provides a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute $10-$50 toward the purchase price. The bill provides additional funding to the benefit program and also provides funding to states to facilitate the linking of their SNAP databases with the FCC's National Lifeline Verifier database, which will allow recipients of SNAP to automatically qualify for Lifeline and the Emergency Broadband Benefit.