Last week, the House passed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, and it is headed to President Biden’s desk with the help of 13 House Republicans. Democrats are now turning their full attention to their multi-trillion dollar “Build Back Better” (BBB) social spending bill. NTU has laid out the problematic budget gimmicks, tax increases, and runaway spending included in the bill. However, in its current form, BBB would also break a key promise from President Biden not to double-dip on spending that was included in the infrastructure package.
The infrastructure bill was only able to pass because of bipartisan support in the House and Senate. During negotiations for the bipartisan infrastructure framework, President Biden promised not to double-dip by including appropriations in BBB that were also in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This was an important promise to court Republican support. However, Democrats are set to break that promise by double-dipping on broadband spending.
The infrastructure bill contained $65 billion in broadband spending, which includes roughly $42 billion in broadband grants and $14 billion to fund a variation of the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, along with other appropriations. The temporary EBB program assists eligible low-income Americans with the purchase of connected devices and subsidizes the cost of internet service by providing a one-time discount of $100 to purchase a connected device and $50 per month towards broadband service. The $14 billion appropriated in the infrastructure legislation funds a similar program, the Affordable Connectivity Fund, which lowers the monthly payments to $30.
The $65 billion appropriated is a huge sum, especially considering this is not the only money being spent on broadband. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Brendan Carr penned an op-ed earlier this year warning that additional funding was unnecessary considering the substantial sums in the pipeline, waiting to be spent. In a recent interview with the American Enterprise Institute, he echoed this sentiment by stating that the money appropriated by Congress and budget by agencies was enough to close the digital divide several times over. However, Democrats have included additional funding in their BBB that is not only wasteful, but it also breaks President Biden’s promise to not double-dip on spending.
Included in Democrats’ BBB plan is additional broadband funding, including:
- $100 million for outreach and education;
- $7 million to establish a Telecommunications Council;
- $280 million for grants a public-private partnerships to increase access to affordable broadband; and
- $475 million for a new connected device grant program.
While most Americans can agree that broadband is an increasingly important service, these additional funds are unnecessary and clearly break President Biden’s promise. The $475-million connected device program would issue grants to assist eligible households purchase or refurbish one or two connected device(s), depending on the size and age of the children in the family. This clearly has substantial overlap with the goals of the Affordable Connectivity Fund, which is included in the infrastructure bill. Even if it’s not technically duplicating funding for the same program, it is still double-dipping by funding a program that would serve nearly the same function. As lawmakers wait for the Congressional Budget Office to score BBB, lawmakers should remove the additional broadband funding.
The digital divide is a persistent and complex problem. Simply appropriating more and more money may be a way for lawmakers to convey to voters they are prioritizing the issue, but it invites waste, fraud, and abuse. Every dollar wasted is a dollar that could have been used to actually solve the problem. $65 billion is already a massive sum for Congress to spend on broadband, and while the broadband funds in BBB are relatively small in proportion to the overall price tag, they are still unnecessary.
President Biden campaigned as someone who was capable of reaching across the aisle and making deals with Republicans. Progressives in the House wanted BBB and the infrastructure deal to move as one and voted against the infrastructure legislation in protest. Without Republican support, the infrastructure vote would have failed in the House. While NTU opposed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, it is now likely to become law. Congressional Democrats should keep President Biden’s promise and remove the additional broadband funding from BBB.