E-Rate funding is critical to funding internet access at schools and libraries, especially in rural areas

Washington (March 17, 2017) – Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alas.) today sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) calling on Chairman Ajit Pai to support the E-Rate program. The E-Rate program, a part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, provides schools and libraries funding for internet access. Before passage of the law that created the E-Rate program barely 14 percent of classrooms had access to the internet, while today nearly all schools around the country are connected. 

“The E-Rate ensures that students from working-class and rural neighborhoods can connect to and be afforded all of the opportunities given to students from more affluent communities,” write Senators Markey and Sullivan in the letter to the FCC. “With technology expanding into nearly every facet of our lives, we need to ensure all Americans – whether urban or rural, rich or poor – remain connected and competitive in this global economy by continuing to support this essential program that millions of kids rely on across the nation.”

A copy of the Senators’ letter can be found HERE.