Sponsors (7)
The bill extends paid home internet access to low-income public housing families with school-age children—boosting affordability and students' online learning—but raises program costs, excludes many low-income residents, and imposes mandatory filtering requirements that may burden providers and risk overblocking lawful content.
Low-income public housing households with school-age children will have monthly internet costs (including equipment and installation) covered in utility allowances, reducing out-of-pocket expenses and improving home internet access for learning and daily needs.
Students in the covered households will gain better access to online learning resources and schoolwork because internet service and necessary setup are supported by the allowance.
Households retain the choice to subscribe to bundled or higher-cost services beyond the allowance, preserving consumer freedom to get additional features or higher-capacity plans if they want them.
Taxpayers and HUD budgets will face higher costs because expanding utility allowances to cover internet increases program spending and may require additional funding or cuts/reallocations elsewhere.
Many low-income public housing tenants without school-age children eligible for free/reduced-price lunch (e.g., single adults, seniors) will be excluded from the benefit, leaving coverage uneven across low-income residents.
Requiring ISPs to supply specific content-filtering technology may increase providers' implementation costs, complicate participation in the program, and could reduce competition or service options for public housing residents.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires public housing utility allowances to cover basic high-speed internet (service, equipment, installation) for households with children eligible for free/reduced-price lunch, capped at the lowest local comparable price.
Official title: To include reasonable costs for high-speed internet service in the utility allowances for families residing in public housing, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 4, 2026 by Bill Foster · Last progress June 4, 2026
Requires public housing utility allowances to include the cost of basic high-speed internet (including equipment and a one-time installation fee) for households that both pay for internet and have children eligible for free or reduced-price school lunch. The monthly allowance cannot exceed the lowest available local price for comparable service, excludes TV/phone charges, and allows families to buy more expensive or bundled services on their own. Also requires providers to supply, when initial service is provided, technology that blocks or filters sexual content described in federal law, providing protections at least as strong as an approved certified technology protection measure.