All Americans Deserve Access to Broadband

With Congress on the brink of passing a historic infrastructure bill, the country has the opportunity to close the digital divide once and for all. As an educator and parent of three elementary school students, connectivity to reliable internet was the pathway to meaningful learning for my students and children during this unprecedented school year. Unfortunately, far too many young people across this country did not have the same educational opportunities because they live in rural communities with no broadband, or their families simply couldn’t afford the price to connect.

Prioritizing connecting rural communities with no broadband access and including a permanent broadband subsidy in the final infrastructure plan will help ensure no student is left behind going forward. Our country needs to seize this opportunity coming out of a crisis to rebuild equitably and to meet the challenges of the coming decades. But if we’re going to do it, the millions of Americans without access to broadband need us to build back better right now – not in 20 years.

Victoria Franklin