Individuals with Disabilities

For groups working to bridge the digital divide, the Trump administration's decision not to release Digital Equity Act grant funds has meant disruption or cancellation of programs that try to help people get and stay online. The $2.75 billion program was meant to teach people how to do everything from using a health care portal to finding a job, but President Trump labeled the program racist and ended it. Nonprofits soon learned the grants that they had won would not be coming. A look at who's affected and how.

In 2023, Virginian John Boyd’s combine caught fire while harvesting grain, and he was in a dead zone. He had to walk a mile and a half just to find cellular service. By then, the fire had destroyed his combine. “A complete loss, and insurance wouldn’t pay,” Boyd said. Internet access is more than a convenience for farmers and ranchers. It’s become critical infrastructure, and not only for emergency situations.

Most state and territorial broadband offices have completed subgrantee selections for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program last-mile connectivity projects and submitted their final proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

The work of digital navigators across the country was to be propped up by a $2.75 billion federal program that was abruptly canceled this spring.

“We all benefit when we are all connected—when workers connect with employers, patients connect with doctors, students connect with teachers, and small businesses connect with customers. That’s what Congress designed the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program to deliver—connectivity and opportunity for all," said Executive Director Dr. Revati Prasad. “NDIA’s action today is an unfortunately necessary step to restoring Congress’s intention.

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the Trump Administration’s repeal of the Digital Equity Act Competitive Grant Program.

Millions of American seniors could lose access to telehealth appointments with their doctors if Congress fails to fund them amid a looming government shutdown, while thousands more who have been receiving high-level, acute care at home face being sent back to the hospital or discharged.

Connected Nation believes in the importance of sustained, reliable internet connectivity for every household. In this report, CN looks at “internet insecure” households whose internet adoption has been in flux. What we found underscores a need to address the issue of internet insecurity: not only do Americans need to get connected, but to benefit from broadband, they must STAY connected. Key findings include:

Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) called on Arielle Roth, the recently confirmed Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), to fulfill her responsibility to fully implement programs authorized and funded by Congress—specifically, the Digital Equity Act and the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Senator Luján urged Roth to make her first act as Administrator the immediate restoration of suspended digital equity grants and the release of approved federal funding to connect all New Mexicans to broadband.