SHLB, More Than 80 Others Urge House Not to Repeal Hotspot Order
The Senate passed its resolution against the rule eariler this month.
WASHINGTON, May 29, 2025 – More than 80 groups are urging the House not to move forward with a resolution to scrap a Federal Communications Commission rule subsidizing Wi-Fi hotspots for off-campus use.
“If this resolution becomes law, not only would the FCC have to reject currently pending requests for hotspots from schools and libraries across the nation, the FCC would be barred from ever reinstituting this program,” the groups wrote. “In short, this resolution would prevent millions of students and library patrons across the country from obtaining internet access now and in the future.”
The Senate passed its own version of the resolution earlier this month along party lines, spearheaded by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. If the House eventually does the same and President Donald Trump signs it into law, the rule would be nullified under the Congressional Review Act and the agency would be barred from issuing the same rule in the future.
Last year under former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the agency expanded its E-Rate program, which provides internet discounts for schools and libraries, to also cover hotspots that students and library patrons could check out and use off-campus.
Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, introduced the House CRA resolution against the order in February. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The groups urging lawmakers not to go forward with scrapping the rule mostly represented schools and educators as well as some broadband-focused consumer groups. They included the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition, the American Library Association, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, and others.
They pointed to FCC data showing more than 8,000 schools and libraries had requested hotspot funding for 2025, to the tune of more than $46 million. The groups said the hotspot program was “an important and fiscally prudent tool to address the Homework Gap and bring affordable wireless internet to millions of students and families who need help” in the aftermath of the expired Affordable Connectivity Program in May, 2024.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a commissioner at the time, dissented from the agency order at issue. He argued the Communications Act only provided for connectivity inside schools and libraries, something the education groups disputed.
“It may be a good idea, but it is not one that Congress has authorized the FCC to carry out,” Carr said at the time. He also said after the Senate vote that he hoped the House would advance its measure to reverse to rule quickly.
Still, the groups said they would prefer an unfriendly FCC to handle the dispute rather than have Congress strike the new policy down.
“We suggest that the FCC, under the leadership of Chairman Carr, can address the future of the E-Rate hotspot lending program at a later date,” the wrote. “Deferring to the FCC will allow time for more public discussion and not harm the approximately 8,000 schools and libraries nationwide that have already submitted hotspot applications in the current E-Rate funding year, along with the countless other schools and libraries that may one day seek this crucial funding.”
Representatives of some of the groups, including SHLB and the American Library Association, discussed the E-Rate program with staff from FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington’s office on Tuesday, according to an ex parte filing. Simington, a Republican, also dissented from the hotspot order.
The filing didn’t say whether the hotspot issue specifically came up. It read: “During the meeting we expressed our support for the E-Rate program, our willingness to work collaboratively with the Commissioner and his team, our interest in improvements to the E-Rate program, and what it would mean for schools and libraries.”
SHLB has argued in previous filings to the agency that the hotspot order should be preserved and urged several procedural E-Rate reforms to make the program easier for participating schools to navigate.
