Internet access is in jeopardy for many rural and low-income households, after a federal program to subsidize costs expired.
Rep. Brandon Williams (R-22nd District) said the internet is a critical tool for entrepreneurship and a gateway to opportunity.
"In education, for example, (it’s) everything from what you learn on YouTube to online classes from MIT and Stanford and of course here at Syracuse University," said Williams.
That’s why the congressman said he introduced a bill to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program, or the ACP. The federal program, which expired in May, provides subsidies for internet access in rural and low-income communities.
Williams said he also secured $3 million for the city of Syracuse’s Surge Link program. Surge Link received more than 700 subscribers in its first year.
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said the support is critically important.
"Before it expired, 42 percent of all Syracuse households, all households, took advantage of the ACP, and all of the Surge Link subscribers also benefited from it,” Walsh said.
Williams, a Republican, said he knows he’ll have to reach across the political aisle to get the ACP extended.
"Make no mistake. This is an uphill climb against many forces, including those in my own party,” he said. “But it is right for central New York."
The bill has gained more than a dozen co-sponsors in the House so far, and Williams said it’s an issue he’ll keep pushing until it reaches the president’s desk.
