Sens. Markey, Van Hollen, Rep. Meng Slam FCC Proposal to Rip Internet Access Away from Students

Washington (September 3, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Representative Grace Meng (NY-06) released the following statement after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr announced the FCC would vote to overturn its rule allowing schools and libraries to use their E-Rate funds to loan Wi-Fi hotspots to students and educators.

"With today's announcement, the Trump FCC will rip internet access away from students and educators across the country. This decision ignores the needs of American families and instead advances a damaging ideological crusade, ultimately harming students, pushing them to fall further behind their connected classmates, and widening the Homework Gap. It's unfair, unnecessary, and saves no money. This decision flies in the face of the FCC's mission and hurts learners and library patrons across the country."

In February 2024, Senator Markey, Senator Van Hollen, and Representative Meng led 64 of their colleagues in a letter to then-FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel supporting the Commission's proposal to expand the E-Rate program. Senator Markey is the House author of the original E-Rate program, which has invested nearly $62 billion to connect schools and libraries to the internet across the country. Massachusetts schools and libraries have received more than $895 million from the E-Rate program and another $97 million from the Emergency Connectivity Fund, a $7 billion program that Senators Markey and Van Hollen and Rep. Meng created within the American Rescue Plan to provide devices and connectivity for students and educators at home.

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