U.S. Reps. Shontel Brown and Emilia Sykes

Staff article- Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

Staff article

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) on Wednesday co-led a press conference in Washington, D.C. with colleagues from the New Democrat Coalition and called on House Republican leadership to take immediate action to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and preserve affordable internet access for 23 million American households.

Brown is a cosponsor of Congresswoman Yvette Clarke's Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act that would provide seven billion in funding for the ACP.

The press conference also included Reps. Annie Kuster (NH-02), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Angie Craig (MN-02), Emilia Sykes (OH-13), and Gabe Vasquez (NM-02).

Rep Brown is a Warrensville Hts Democrat whose 11th congressional district includes Cleveland, and Sykes is an Akron Democrat and the youngest of Ohio's Five-Member Democratic Congressional Delegation. It also includes U.S. Sen Sherrod Brown of Cleveland, Rep, Marcy Kaptur of Toledo and Columbus Democrat Joyce Beatty. Kaptur is the longest serving woman in Congress and Brown, Sykes and Beatty are all three Black women.

According to the White House, over 1.1 million Ohio households are enrolled in the program, including an estimated 46% of all households in Congresswoman Brown's 11th congressional district, the highest percentage in the state and one of the highest nationwide.

The ACP is part of President Joe Biden's Investing in America agenda.

"Republican leadership in the House is content to watch the ACP die – this is unacceptable to me and should be unacceptable to the country," said Rep.Brown in a statement."I am proud to stand with my colleagues in support of this vital program and will continue to fight for my constituents. We cannot cut the cord on connectivity."

Absent congressional action, April will be the last month that participants receive their full ACP benefits, and the program will end entirely after May. The ACP was created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Congresswoman Brown says she "proudly voted for."

“In today’s age, access to the internet isn’t a luxury — it’s a critical resource that people in my district depend on for their livelihoods," said Rep. Sykes. "Households from across Ohio’s 13th District rely on the Affordable Connectivity Program for affordable internet, and my office has received thousands of emails from constituents across the political spectrum worried about how they will afford the internet if funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program runs out at the end of the month."

Sykes added that “I promised people in Ohio’s 13th district that I would work to lower their everyday costs, and that’s exactly what I intend to do by fighting to keep the Affordable Connectivity Program funded.”

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