American Connectivity Program

Floor Speech

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Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Madam Speaker, Congress needs to fully fund the American Connectivity Program, also known as ACP. This landmark initiative helps all Americans afford home internet access that is essential today to achieve work or education success.

In my district, Nancy Mendez said that one-half of the people in the United Palatine Coalition's beginning computer class relied on the ACP for their first-ever home internet access.

More broadly, Cook County estimates that more than 250,000 households in Cook County have been helped by the law. I want to congratulate and thank Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County for their successful implementation of the ACP.

Be that as it may, if the House doesn't act, those families in Cook County and elsewhere will lose their home internet access.

Let's pass the ACP reauthorization act now. SEIU Healthcare

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Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Madam Speaker, in Illinois and across the country, America is in the midst of a childcare crisis. Today parents face a desert of childcare options, and the options available to them are increasingly unaffordable.

In addition, childcare workers face low wages and a lack of benefits that leave them unable to meet their own basic needs.

In Illinois, nearly 60 percent of parents live where there are not enough childcare providers. Parents and workers are shouldering the cost of care through massive enrollment fees, lower wages for care workers, and a steep decline in the number of licensed childcare providers. This situation is untenable and unacceptable.

SEIU Healthcare is fighting to create living wages and affordable services. Now it is our turn in Washington to meet the challenge. We must support the needs of parents and care workers alike by fully funding President Biden's request to stabilize childcare resources now. Catholic Charities

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Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Madam Speaker, partisan gamesmanship over the southern border is causing this House to neglect the needs of thousands of legally admitted children and families for whom hunger and homelessness await.

Catholic Charities of Chicago estimates they now serve five to six times as many people at their pantries compared to 2020. These increases mirror those reported by other food banks, religious organizations, and not-for-profits nationwide, and they are all struggling to bridge the gap created by our inaction in Washington.

The blame game will not feed the hungry. We can and must do better now.

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