EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill.—Unless Congress passes a supplemental budget request this spring, the White House warns that than 200,000 households in the greater St. Louis region will lose monthly stipends that help families below the federal poverty line pay for internet access.

New signups for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which was part of the 2021 infrastructure law, ended last month and without funding, the full benefit of up to $30 a month will go dark in April, the Federal Communications Commission warned consumers last week.

The Biden administration asked Congress for $6 billion as part of a supplemental budget request last fall.

“This means internet connectivity for students that are trying to learn at home. This means access for people who are looking for mental health care. This is a critically important lifeline for working families and what we’re facing in the federal government is inaction on this,” Rep. Nikki Budzinski said after a town hall meeting in East St. Louis last month, where nearly every household in the city uses the program.

“We have a lot of students doing night school for credits, students that miss that are homebound, students that are homeless, a lot of different situations so if they’re at home they’re not at school where they have access, what are they going to do when they’re at home?” said Karmilia Prude, a Technology Integration Specialist for the East St. Louis School District. 

It will mean missed school work and assignments, and also impact a child’s ability to apply for college and scholarships, Prude said.

According to the FCC, there are 395,504 Missouri households registered in the program and 704,532 in Illinois. 

By congressional district, Missouri’s first district, which includes the city of St. Louis and parts of St. Louis County, has 102,244 ACP households, according to White House data. In Illinois, Budzinski’s 13th district has the most, 76,604, in the Metro East and the fourth most in the state’s delegation.

Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum News, is among the internet providers lobbying to extend the life of the program. 

Last week, Budzinski and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., were added to more than 180 co-sponsors of the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024. A similar bill is in the Senate.