Op-Ed: Save the ACP to keep Wyomingites online

Internet is essential for all parts of modern life – from finding a job, applying for government benefits and talking to your child’s teacher, to receiving remote or in-person health care services and participating in worship services while staying safe at home or minding small children. People who can’t get online are isolated, often relegated to second-class citizenship by not being able to participate in society.

One of the most common barriers to accessing the internet is the cost. We frequently hear from our community about the cost of their internet bills, and many of them even come to our church for support. I know of people in the community who park in their cars near establishments they know offer free Wi-Fi so they can use their phones to call social services for help. Our church often gets calls from individuals looking for help in this situation.

The Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, was created to address this problem. Eligible households receive a $30 monthly subsidy ($75 on tribal lands) for internet service. More than 23 million households nationwide and nearly 22,000 in Wyoming rely on this program to get online.

The United Church of Christ and its Media Justice Ministry have been working on social justice and equity for more than 60 years. Since the early days of the Church, the UCC has been a leader in advocating for full and equitable access to media and communications. We as a Church are working hard to ensure our society does not become divided between the “information rich” and the “information poor,” leaving struggling people without the tools they need to succeed in today’s society.

This summer, when our denomination gathered for our national worship and governance General Synod, we passed a resolution that recognized and affirmed that the digital divide is a core social justice issue. 

I shared flyers from the UCC’s action kit called Love Your Neighbors: Get Them Internet, helping churches and community members around the country spread the word on ACP with easy to use flyers. Those flyers have been posted on our church bulletin board.

But all of that all changed last month, when the ACP stopped taking new enrollees. At the end of April, money will run out for existing participants altogether if Congress does not act, which they failed to do before leaving town earlier in March for in-district work. The ACP needs more funding to continue to serve those who are enrolled in Wyoming and all states — and only Congress can provide that funding. 

Absent that congressional action, the Federal Communications Commission has already begun to wind down the program. Internet service providers have begun to notify program participants that their benefit will go away and their bills will increase. The congregants I know who use this program will face economic hardship and lose service if they lose the benefit.

Fortunately, there’s hope. A bipartisan group in Congress has introduced the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024, which would appropriate an additional $7 billion for the program that is estimated to sustain the program for another year.  

We call on Wyoming’s Senators and Representatives to step up and co-sponsor this bill before the end of the month. The time to act is now to make sure that all of God’s people are treated with dignity and respect and that no key technological tool is beyond their reach.

Rev. Kelli Parrish Lucas, Pastor of First Congregational Church in Rock Spring, WY, has served 10 years as a hospice chaplain and held several leadership positions in the United Church of Christ. Rev. Lucas was the lead sponsor of the UCC’s resolution supporting Digital Justice and Inclusion at the 34th UCC Biennial General Synod in July 2023.

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