Media Contact: 
William Davenport
William.Davenport@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

COMMISSIONER STARKS STATEMENT ON 
CONGRESS’S PASSAGE OF THE CARES ACT

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2020—FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks issued the following statement on Congress’s passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act: 

“I welcome Congress’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a much-needed economic stimulus program that will help workers, consumers, health care providers, and businesses across America. It is a time for action, and the FCC must do more to advance its own “connectivity stimulus.”  The coming weeks will lay bare the already cruel reality of the digital divide: tens of millions of Americans cannot access or cannot afford the broadband connections they need to telework, access medical information, and help young people learn when school is closed.  The FCC must closely examine its statutory authority and funding resources and take bold action to respond to the current crisis.  As I’ve called for previously, the Lifeline and E-rate programs must be expanded to meet the needs of struggling Americans that need connectivity.  In times of emergency, Americans always pull together.  We must act now.”

For more information on Commissioner Starks’s proposals for how FCC and the telecom sector can support the response to COVID-19, please see his March 19 New York Times op-ed and his March 10 testimony before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.  Additional statements from Commissioner Starks are available at: https://www.fcc.gov/about/leadership/geoffrey-starks#statements.

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Office of Commissioner Geoffrey Starks: (202) 418-2500 
ASL Videophone: (844) 432-2275
TTY: (888) 835-5322
Twitter: @GeoffreyStarks 
www.fcc.gov/about/leadership/geoffrey-starks

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).