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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Access to affordable, reliable, high-speed
3broadband service is essential to full participation in modern
4life in the State and throughout the United States; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The persistent digital divide in the State and in
6the United States is a barrier to economic competitiveness in
7the economic distribution of essential public services,
8including health care and education; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In 2021, as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure
10Investment and Jobs Act's historic investment in broadband
11infrastructure and digital equity, Congress appropriated more
12than 14 billion dollars for the Affordable Connectivity
13Program (ACP); and
 
14    WHEREAS, Based on the current take rates, the more than 14
15billion dollars in funding appropriated for the ACP could be
16exhausted in early 2024; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The ACP has been a tremendous success, with
18almost 700,000 Illinois households enrolled in the program and
1923,000,000 households enrolled nationally; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The ACP has been a critical tool in helping

 

 

SR0785- 2 -LRB103 39408 MST 69590 r

1bridge the digital divide that exists between those who have
2access to modern information and communications technology and
3those who do not; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
5ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge each member of
6the Illinois Congressional Delegation to support continued
7funding of the ACP so that low-income Illinois households can
8continue to receive the support they need to participate in
9the digital marketplace; and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
11delivered to the President of the United States, the U.S.
12Senate Majority Leader, the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, the
13U.S. Speaker of the House, the U.S. House of Representatives
14Minority Leader, and all members of the Illinois Congressional
15Delegation.