Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act--Motion to Proceed--

Floor Speech

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Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Alaska and really appreciate her remarks. Affordable Connectivity Program

Mr. President, one of the rays of hope we have in this Congress is the bipartisan accomplishment of the past several years to build out broadband high-speed internet across the country, from Vermont to Alaska and everywhere in between. And that was because this Congress, on a bipartisan basis, made a decision--a decision that is similar to what was made by this Congress in the 1930s, when electricity was becoming widely available.

We decided that it was absolutely essential for the well-being of our country and all of the citizens in urban and rural America that they have access to high-speed internet. And we built out that broadband network that made it within reach.

We also committed ourselves to a program called the Affordable Connectivity Program, which is really modest but incredibly important. And what it understands is that you may be a person with really low income in Pennsylvania or in Vermont or in Alaska, where the internet that has been constructed is right out in front of your mobile home or your home, wherever it is you live, but you can't afford to connect. So having the internet cable go by but you can't connect your home means you don't have internet.

And the Affordable Connectivity Program--a bipartisan program--is used by 23 million households, by 4 million veterans. And it is the difference between them being able to connect and get the benefit of high-speed internet or not.

And it makes such a difference because that internet is used by all of us. It might be to do your job. It might be to apply for a job. It might be for kids to do homework. It might be to get an appointment with a doctor through telehealth, something that is really important in rural America. That is the good news.

The dangerous news is that the Affordable Connectivity Program that is that lifeline for our veterans, for our seniors, and for our low- income folks is going to expire in a matter of weeks. And we have the opportunity and, I believe, the responsibility to extend the Affordability Connectivity Program so that people will be able to maintain access.

As I mentioned, more than 23.3 million American households have subscribed in the ACP, about 26,000 households in my State of Vermont. About 10.6 million subscribers are over the age of 50. And half the households that benefit are considered military families.

I mentioned 4 million veterans. A December 2023 survey of ACP subscribers reported that 77 percent said they used the program to schedule or attend healthcare appointments, and nearly 330,000 ACP subscribers live on Tribal lands.

You know, one of the keys to the bipartisan support is that this helps the citizens that all of us represent, whether you are in a red district or a blue district, a red State or a blue State, the folks we represent need access to the internet.

Let me just give a little example. I have a chart here about the 23 million Americans who use it. In Texas, one in four households--what a difference that makes for those folks in Texas. In Indiana, one in four. I am sorry. It was one in six in Texas. In Kentucky, one in four households. In North Carolina and Mississippi, one in five households. In Louisiana, every third household depends on the Affordability Connectivity Program in order to be linked to the internet that goes right by the front of their house.

So we have got to allow folks to continue to have that access to that vital program. So we need a supplemental appropriation from Congress to make certain that that happens.

If we let the ACP run out, funding would have devastating effects on people who use the program. And 77 percent of the households that rely on ACP say that losing that benefit would disrupt their service by making them change their plans or drop the internet service completely.

And, by the way, that 30 bucks--you know, it cost more than that. So folks have to dig deep in their pockets. And this is like Vermonters making $15,000 a year and having two kids. They don't have a big budget.

Let me give you a couple of examples because I think it brings it home.

Cynthia is a retired American who lives in Florida. She is an ACP subscriber. She told CNN, which did a great story on that, that she connects to her granddaughter and her great-grandson on video calls every week.

Do you know what? That matters. You are lonely. You have got grandchildren. You want to stay connected. You want to be in touch. That is a huge, huge part of her life. So let's not deny her that access.

Jonathan is a software engineer in my State of Vermont. He is an ACP subscriber who also spoke with CNN. This is what he said:

You're taking ACP away from the farmers that can check the local produce prices and be able to reasonably negotiate their prices with retailers. You're removing disabled people's ability to fill their subscriptions online.

That really, really matters.

I have also gotten messages from my constituents, like Leslie in Brandon, VT, who said:

I was just informed by Consolidated Communications [the internet provider] that I would be losing my ACP benefit for my internet service at the end of April. . . . What a shame. The internet is our way of communicating with our family members who live outside Vermont plus many other contacts necessary for our stay-at-home lives. I use the internet almost . . . [every day].

That is why we have bipartisan support. When we--all of us, whoever it is we represent or whatever district we represent--listen to our constituents, and they say to Senator Fetterman or they say to Senator Welch or they say to Senator Wicker or they say to Senator Vance, ``This access to the internet really matters,'' we share a common opportunity to help the people all of us represent.

And, by the way, that helps bring us together when we are working on solving the problems that we all share.

And we have got bipartisan support to show for it. Joining me on the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act is Senator Vance, Senator Cramer, Senator Rosen, Senator Marshall, and Senator Brown. And many others have indicated support and interest when we find the way to come up with the funds to make certain it doesn't expire.

And, by the way, a lot of the leadership came from eight of my Republican colleagues, who sent a letter to President Biden encouraging the administration to fund the program, calling the ACP ``an important tool in our efforts to close the digital divide.''

And I thank my colleagues--Senator Wicker, Senator Crapo, Senators Tillis, Capito, Risch, and Young for sending that letter to President Biden.

And, of course, most importantly, it is really popular with the American people. The majority of Republican voters, 62 percent, support the ACP, according to a poll from the Digital Progress Institute. That same poll found that 80 percent of rural voters support continuing ACP.

And, boy, does this matter in rural America. You know, in the Roosevelt administration, there was a commitment: We are going to get electricity to the last barn on that last dirt mile in whatever rural town you live in. And do you know what? We made that same commitment here when we began extending broadband. But we won't make it real unless we can make certain that those people at the end of the road, on that dirt road, can afford it, and that is what the ACP does.

We need all of us--Democrats and Republicans--now to come together to pass our bipartisan Affordability Connectivity Program Extension Act and keep America connected.

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