Texas once felt like an affordable place to raise a family, but that’s no longer the case. From gas prices to groceries, electric bills to drugstore essentials, it’s impossible not to feel the pinch every time you pull out your wallet to pay for something. I am also proud to have raised two children and a grandchild here. I do the best I can like everyone does, but it’s been hard to make ends meet – I think almost everyone feels that way these days.
When I signed up for the Affordable Connect plan in February 2022, I did so as a last resort. The truth is, I can’t afford internet service without ACP. Through ACP, I can get Internet access for $30 a month. Before signing up for this benefit, I couldn’t afford the service—the cheap plans offered by cable companies were still too expensive and didn’t offer enough to host Zoom calls.
When I first joined ACP, I was living in Washington and didn’t talk to my family much. I frequently need data from my cell phone plan, which adds up quickly. Since flights are so expensive, I haven’t actually met my grandchildren until I got internet service through ACP and was able to video chat with my daughter in Rio Vista. When we first met and talked, we were both in tears. Now, thanks to this app, I can video chat with my family every day.
Congress should fund ACP because it provides opportunities for the American people to connect with each other. ACP gives ordinary people the opportunity to connect with the people who matter most, whether it’s their doctor or their child’s teacher. This isn’t a government handout either – we pay our internet bill every month, just like any other bill. When everything is so expensive, ACP makes your internet bill feel like an affordable thing.
Even if you don’t use ACP, its benefits are far-reaching. Thanks to this benefit, people can apply for jobs online, have telemedicine visits, talk to relatives in other states and save money on gas by driving less. The money saved can be spent on things that benefit our community instead of spending $100 or more a month on internet bills.
ACP has also helped expand internet access to rural areas of Texas where internet service was poor or previously non-existent. This means more small businesses can access the internet. If you think internet access isn’t important, imagine if you had to cancel your internet service and give it up, like I did, and see how much it would cost you to not have access to the internet.
ACP is set to expire in April 2024, and if that happens, millions of people like me could lose internet access. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn have the opportunity to move forward with the ACP plan. If they don’t find a way to continue, nearly 1.7 million Texans — including me — will lose internet access. ACP means everything to some people; This is priceless. It would be cruel to take that away. I know U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of Texas talk a lot about high prices. Now we need them to keep their word and keep the ACP going.
Kelly Sullivan lives in Rio Vista, Texas and is a WorkMoney member.
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