February 1, 2024
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden and The Honorable Kamala D. Harris
President of the United States and Vice President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Biden and Vice President Harris:
Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, representing millions of members nationwide. We strongly urge your Administration to take a proactive stance and request Congress replenish funds for affordable broadband access. If your Administration does not take action to replenish funds for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), millions of families, including Black families, will lose access to affordable, high-speed internet along with all of its benefits. As your first term comes to an end with a pressing election less than one year away, your Administration cannot let one of the few critical benefits available to Black communities disappear.
Broadband remains unaffordable for millions, including the 1 out of 5 Black people who do have home internet. Regardless of rising wages, employment rates, or other economic indicators which suggest that this is an improved economy, taking away a critical benefit that many communities, particularly Black communities, have come to rely on will only exacerbate crises in their lives. Black people cannot incur another rising cost for basic necessities.
Color Of Change applauds the Administration for prioritizing economic advancement in the Black community. However, more work is needed. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which enhances access to education, telehealth, employment, and more, is crucial for Black families. The prospect of losing this benefit represents an unnecessary setback.
If ACP lapses without funding, the Administration will need to take a couple of actions. First, provide essential guidance to broadband providers if ACP funding runs out to avoid sudden spikes in service rates for families. Then you must call on providers, many of which have received hundreds of millions of dollars from ACP, to recognize the needs of families and maintain the subsidy. But the fight for funding is not yet over. Your Administration must hold the line and ensure any deal must maintain this program.
As your Administration gears up for the upcoming election, I encourage you to remember the communities, particularly Black communities, who rallied and voted for you. ACP is one of the most tangible ways that Black communities have felt the wins of this Administration. Economic safety and mobility are critical issues on the minds of Black voters, and ACP is one way for your Administration to demonstrate that it supports the economic development of Black people. Letting ACP sunset without replenishing funds will create real economic harm for so many Black communities. They will take that harm with them when they’re voting this year.
Color Of Change is prepared to support this Administration in the fight for economic justice. As we approach the 2024 election, our focus is on rallying Black people around the critical achievements secured by this Administration, rather than explaining its setbacks. We strongly urge that you work with Congress to replenish funds for ACP and pass a clean version without adjusting eligibility requirements. Access to high-speed internet is no longer a matter of convenience; it is a civil right, and a catalyst for economic growth and social equality for working families.
Rashad Robinson
President
Color Of Change
CC:
Mayor Stephen Benjamin
Senior Advisor to the President and Director of Public Engagement
Neera Tanden
Domestic Policy Advisor