Dominic Calabro: Congress must help low-income Floridians unlock their full economic potential

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), passed into law by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, allows for households making less than 60% of the median income to receive a $30 per month voucher for internet service (or $75 monthly on tribal lands). On top of that voucher, recipients also get $100 credit for a laptop, tablet, or other tech upgrades.

As Florida TaxWatch has opined in the past, the importance of extending this program cannot be overstated – and yet Congress continues not to act. That must change, as the importance of the Internet in our daily lives has never been more pronounced. The internet not only connects people and provides entertainment, but perhaps most importantly, it serves as a powerful economic tool.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of people working from home tripled between 2019 and 2021, and while the end of the COVID-19 pandemic somewhat stabilized these numbers, millions of Floridians still work in remote or hybrid positions.

The job application process is also primarily conducted online because employers often find the internet provides them with a much larger and more talented applicant pool.

And internet access benefits job applicants as well, helping them find better, higher paying jobs. In fact, in the early days of the internet, it was thought to have been the next great equalizer, democratizing the job searching process and allowing for increased salary transparency.

However, many Floridians continue to lack reliable broadband access and have yet to reap these economic benefits – a cause-and-effect relationship magnified in economically depressed and largely rural areas. The U.S. Census Bureau even notes that seven out of the 10 counties with the lowest per capita income also rank among the lowest in terms of broadband access.

The ACP presents an effective solution to this challenge and has already successfully connected the Sunshine State, with recent data showing enrollment in Florida at approximately 1.4 million, or 38 percent of eligible households.

Moreover, a U.S. Government Accountability Office study found that the ACP has proven to help bridge the digital divide. And because closing the digital divide by 10 percentage points has the potential to create an additional 260,000 jobs per year nationally, the advantages of extending the ACP are afforded not just to those who qualify for the program, but all citizens.

Extending the ACP has broad bipartisan support among voters. Not to mention, continuing to fund the program would allow low-income families to participate in the digital marketplace, which has proven to be an extremely important investment in the lives of millions of Floridians.

As the ‘eyes and ears’ of Florida’s taxpayers, Florida TaxWatch urges Congress to act now to continue funding the ACP so that low-income Florida households can remain connected and unlock their full economic potential.

Dominic M. Calabro has led Florida TaxWatch’s world-class research team as President and CEO for nearly all of the organization’s 41-year existence.