Could the ACP come back?
A flurry of ACP extension bills was introduced in 2024, but although the program is widely popular among voters, efforts to secure funding for an extension have fallen flat.
When I polled industry insiders about the prospects of an ACP extension, responses ranged from tepidly hopeful to flat-out bleak.
"I'm torn. I'm still hopeful," said Siefer, the director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. "One reason I'm hopeful right now is that J.D. Vance is actually a really good supporter, basically, and he might have more influence than he did before." Vance, the Republican senator from Ohio who's now former President Donald Trump's running mate, introduced one of the extension bills, a bipartisan effort, along with Democratic Sen. Peter Welch from Vermont and others.
Several ACP extension bills are currently sitting in Congress. On July 31, the Senate Commerce Committee voted to provide $7 billion in new ACP funding, but the bill still has to be voted on. The day before, the House introduced its own extension bill.
"I am hoping for the best and I'm expecting the worst," said Middleton, the CEO of Human-I-T. It's an election year, Middleton noted, and "I understand that things are sometimes a little bit complicated in terms of what's going to get funded."
Source: cnet.com
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