New America's Open Technology Institute condemned President Trump's signal he was pulling the plug on stimulus bill negotiations until after the November election.
OTI has been pushing to make broadband funding part of that stimulus bill, a Democratic version of which also includes small business money for TV and radio stations.
“Millions of people are suffering through the pandemic without internet access, yet the federal government has failed to do anything over the past seven months to meaningfully close the digital divide," said OTI senior counsel Joshua Stager. "We've been urging Congress and the Trump Administration to enact many policies to address the connectivity crisis, including a measure to expand E-Rate funding to help students connect at home, a ‘No Shutoffs’ mandate for broadband and other utilities, and an emergency broadband benefit to assist low-income people. We needed these measures seven months ago, and still do today," he said. "It's unfathomable that the White House is pulling the plug on any relief bill while this crisis still rages.”
