U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown recently came together to urge Congress to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program as funding that provides monthly discounts toward high-speed internet will expire at the end of this month.

We must join their call to action, as millions of people across the country will suffer if the program comes to an end. The senator said President Joe Biden’s administration sent Congress a $6 billion request in October to extend the program until the end of 2024. However, he went on to admit that it’s “stuck” in both the House and the Senate, but he’s planning to continue to fight for its passage. We must commend the senator for his effort toward keeping a crucial program funded.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, the Affordable Connectivity Program has more than 23 million subscribers, which is more than 1 in 6 households in the U.S. Brown claims ending the program would affect more than 1 million Ohioans.

The program was created in 2021 as part of a federal infrastructure law that permitted $30 monthly discounts for those with household incomes less than 200% of the federal poverty rate — about $60,000 annually for a family of four — or those who get certain federal assistance.

The internet is crucial for people around the country and in the Mahoning Valley.

When the program was originally started during the pandemic — under the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program name at the very end of 2020 — as part of a COVID-19 relief package, it allowed people to stay in touch via the internet when several people were cut off from society.

Friends and family had weekly or daily Zoom sessions to play games and stay socially active, schools used the internet to make sure kids continued to get their education and businesses utilized the internet to keep people working. All of that may not have been possible without the program.

While the world may not be as isolated as it was during the pandemic, having affordable access to the internet is still important for millions of people around the country. As it did during the pandemic, it allows people to stay in contact with family and enjoy entertainment while they are at home. It also gives students access to education and provides citizens the ability to work remotely, which some may not have had before.

Limiting the ability to afford internet access by ending the program, which provides crucial funds for people across the country, is a step in the wrong direction. As Mayor Brown said, “It’s unacceptable that some people in Congress can’t get their act together and pass this common-sense bipartisan bill to extend the program that’s not controversial”

We must agree and we urge Congress to take the proper steps to ensure funding for the program continues, so citizens around the country, the state and the Mahoning Valley can continue to have internet at an affordable price.