Democratic officials are expressing concern that the House Republican debt limit plan would undermine bipartisan efforts to boost internet access nationwide and secure U.S. networks. While the issue has flown under the radar in the high-stakes showdown over the bill, which House Republicans approved April 26 but President Biden threatened to veto, Democrats say it could still hamper key connectivity initiatives. At odds is a section in the Republican bill that would roll back unspent money lawmakers dolled out in a series of COVID-19 aid packages, including the bipartisan $900 billion spending bill signed in 2020 and the Democratic-led $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package from 2021. “This bill revokes funding for students’ internet connectivity, accurate broadband mapping, and ensuring our communications equipment is protected from espionage and disruption by hostile foreign governments like China,”  said a Democratic aide for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. They added that the proposal would “claw back money that was greenlit by Republicans themselves and passed on a bipartisan basis.” The panel has primary jurisdiction over internet access and network security issues. A Republican aide for the committee said the bill “would lift the debt ceiling and rein in out-of-control spending.”

When the Federal Communications Commission last updated the benchmark speeds for broadband, Barack Obama was president, Bruno Mars was at the top of the charts dancing through Uptown Funk, Fifty Shades of Grey [NSFW] was steaming up movie theaters, and the New England Patriots had just beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. More than eight years later, you might ask: why hasn't the FCC yet moved the dial on broadband speeds? Congress has been wondering and this week it received a partial answer from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO): despite the significance of the benchmark, the FCC’s reporting of the analysis and data it considers when assessing whether to raise the speed benchmark has been inconsistent and therefore falls short of the FCC’s own goal of having a transparent process. Congress, administrators of federal and state broadband programs, service providers, you and me—no one knows how FCC commissioners determine whether and how to revise the benchmark.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) awarded $139,929.92 in funding from the Universal Service Fund Lifeline Outreach Grant Program to two recipients. The grants were awarded to entities that will assist low-income customers in obtaining affordable access to telecommunications services through the Lifeline program. Project 211 Get Connected was awarded $89,576.92, and the Indianhead Community Action Agency (ICAA) Lifeline Outreach Program was awarded $50,353.00. The Lifeline program provides low-income Wisconsin residents affordable access to essential telecommunications services by discounting the cost of phone, cell, and internet services. The Lifeline Outreach Grant Program is funded through the Wisconsin Universal Service Fund (USF), which provides funding to help Wisconsin residents access essential telecommunications services. The PSC began accepting Lifeline Outreach Grant Program applications for Fiscal Year 2023 on January 4, 2023. For more information about the two recipients, visit here.