Congress quietly expands broadband subsidy for low-income students
H.R. 9144 — Closing the Digital Divide for Students Act of 2026 · Filed by Bill Foster (D-IL) · 6 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 4, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill amends the Housing Act of 1937 to include high-speed internet service costs in the utility allowances for families living in public housing, but only for households with children who qualify for free or reduced-price school lunch. The internet service must be the lowest-cost option available in the area, and providers must offer parental controls that block adult content to the same standard as certified technology-protection measures.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a targeted utility-allowance expansion to subsidize broadband for public-housing families with school-age children. It is a direct public benefit program, not a tax provision or deregulation.
What the text implies
- The bill ties internet subsidy eligibility to free/reduced-lunch status, which may create administrative burden for housing authorities to verify school-lunch enrollment and could exclude families just above the lunch-subsidy threshold despite similar financial need.
- Parental-control requirement may create liability or compliance friction for internet service providers, potentially raising costs or limiting provider participation in the program.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
internet service providers (broadband carriers); equipment manufacturers (modems, routers); parental-control software vendors