Rep. Foster Leads 50 Colleagues in Urging Continued Funding for School and Library Broadband

Washington, DC — Today, Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) led 50 of his colleagues in demanding continued support of the E-Rate program from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fund broadband for low-income schools and libraries.

E-Rate provides libraries and schools with discounts of 20 to 90% on telecommunications services and equipment. It has helped libraries and schools afford broadband connectivity since its creation in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, when only 14% of libraries and schools had internet access. Today, that figure is nearly 100%, and the program supports over 12,500 libraries and 106,000 schools nationwide. 

The letter comes in response to recent statements from the FCC indicating that they may consider terminating E-Rate, or limiting eligibility exclusively to rural areas, citing concerns about excessive screentime for students. Limiting E-Rate would imperil funding for essential services like internet access at low-income schools and libraries across the country.

In the letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, the Members wrote:

“The FCC has overseen the E-Rate program through both Democratic and Republican administrations, and the program has historically enjoyed broad bipartisan support. The FCC itself has acknowledged E-Rate’s importance, calling it an “extraordinary success as the federal government’s largest education technology program.”

“Cuts to E-Rate would place significant financial strain on schools across the country, particularly those serving low-income communities. As such, we respectfully urge the Commission to preserve the E-Rate program and address any concerns regarding student screen time through policies that do not undermine the digital infrastructure on which libraries and schools depend.”

A copy of the letter and a list of cosigners is available here.

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