Sullivan and Markey Call on FCC to Protect E-Rate Funding
E-Rate funding is critical to providing internet access at schools and libraries, especially in rural areas
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) today sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) calling on Chairman Ajit Pai to support the E-Rate program. The E-Rate program, a part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, provides schools and libraries funding for internet access. Before passage of the law that created the E-Rate program, barely 14 percent of classrooms had access to the internet. Today, nearly all schools around the country are connected.
“The E-Rate program ensures that students from working-class and rural neighborhoods can connect to and be afforded all of the opportunities given to students from more affluent communities,” write Senators Markey and Sullivan in their letter to the FCC. “With technology expanding into nearly every facet of our lives, we need to ensure all Americans – whether urban or rural, rich or poor – remain connected and competitive in this global economy by continuing to support this essential program that millions of kids rely on across the nation.”
A copy of the senators’ letter can be found HERE.
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