Sorensen Calls on Congress to Restore Affordable Connectivity Program

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Eric Sorensen (IL-17) reiterated his call to restore the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) after its expiration at the end of April. The ACP provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible families. One in five households in Illinois’ 17^th Congressional District relied on it for internet service. 

“I’ve heard from so many of my neighbors across Central and Northwestern Illinois who rely on the Affordable Connectivity Program to make a living, access health care, and get their kids to school. I’m doing everything I can to put an end to the partisan gridlock that’s preventing this program from being extended,” said Sorensen. “Tens of thousands of working families and seniors in our communities have lost a reliable internet connection because of dysfunction in Washington. Congress must fund the ACP to ensure my neighbors don’t lose access to affordable internet.” 

Earlier this year, Sorensen cosponsored the bipartisan Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act, a bill to fund the program. Shortly after, Sorensen joined his New Democrat Coalition colleagues calling on Speaker Mike Johnson to bring up for a vote a bill to extend the ACP. 

More recently, Sorensen brought together internet providers, local government officials, and other community leaders at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg to discuss possible solutions to keeping working families and those who rely on the ACP to remain connected to affordable internet service. 

In October of 2023, months before the program was set to run out of funding, Sorensen called on House and Senate leaders to include an extension of the ACP in any government spending bill that gets voted on.  

Congressman Eric Sorensen serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Prior to serving in Congress, Sorensen was a local meteorologist in Rockford and the Quad Cities for nearly 20 years. His district includes Illinois’ Quad Cities, Rockford, Peoria, and Bloomington-Normal. 

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