Congress moves to block federal broadband expansion for students without home internet
H.J.Res. 33 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission relating to "Addressing the Homework Gap Through the E-Rate Program". · Filed by Russ Fulcher (R-ID) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 4, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This resolution disapproves an FCC rule that expanded the E-Rate program (which funds broadband and technology for schools and libraries) to help students without home internet access do homework. If passed, the rule would be nullified and have no legal effect, blocking the FCC's effort to close the 'homework gap' for low-income students.
Why we flagged it
This is a standard CRA disapproval resolution under 5 U.S.C. chapter 8, which allows Congress to nullify agency rules. It does exactly one procedural thing: reject an FCC rule on its merits.
What the text implies
- Disapproving the rule may signal congressional intent to restrict FCC authority over E-Rate program expansion, potentially chilling future agency efforts to modernize broadband access for schools.
- The homework gap disproportionately affects rural and low-income students; blocking this rule may widen educational inequality in remote-learning scenarios.
- If passed, the resolution does not prevent the FCC from resubmitting a similar rule, but it creates a political barrier and signals hostile congressional sentiment toward E-Rate modernization.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill blocks a rule designed to expand broadband access for students without home internet, disproportionately affecting low-income families and rural communities. Disapproving the rule removes a federal effort to close the digital divide and support educational equity.
Named in the bill
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), E-Rate Program, U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Rep. Brad Fulcher (ID)
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.
- Feb 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 4, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $70,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Russ Fulcher, the sponsor, reported $350,070 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Illinois Association of School Boards — $70,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,106 characters) on Jun 8, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 16, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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