Trump Sued Again For Illegally Destroying The Digital Equity Act (And A Bunch Of Useful Programs That Helped His Own Supporters)

from the this-is-why-we-can’t-have-nice-things dept

Back in May we noted how Trump illegally declared he was unilaterally destroying the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act, lying repeatedly that the law was “racist” and “unconstitutional.” The law, passed as part of the infrastructure bill, was slated to bring millions in new broadband grants and digital literacy tools, education, and training to Americans (of all kinds).

The bill helped everybody (including Trump-supporting rural veterans and rural residents), but because Trump’s team seemed to assume that the word equity meant “help minorities,” the program was the brutal victim of our mad, incoherent, con man king and his army of mindless earlobe nibblers.

Back in June, a coalition of 20 states sued the Trump administration, correctly stating that it’s illegal for the administration to unilaterally dismantle an act of Congress and freeze and repurpose funding that had already been allotted. That case is winding through the court system, but the damage has already been done to countless traditionally underfunded programs and organizations that had been told they were getting the money.

This week the National Digital Inclusivity Alliance (NDIA) filed another lawsuit against the government, again (correctly) noting that the freezing of the funds is illegal and violates the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches as outlined in the Constitution. 

The NDIA was poised to receive one of the biggest chunks of Act funding; a $25.7 million grant it was going to use to help connect people to the Internet via 13 programs across 11 states. Not only via direct access to affordable physical equipment, but digital literacy training for seniors and vets to gain access to online education, health care, and other essential services:

“NDIA is taking the extraordinary step of suing the federal government for the 30,000 people who were counting on our Digital Navigator + program to help guide them through submitting job applications, accessing telehealth, attending classes, and staying safe online. Thousands more across the country stood to benefit from Digital Equity Act grants through other trusted community organizations. Let’s be very clear, the Digital Equity Act is not unconstitutional nor racist, it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support to ensure the United States can compete in today’s modern economy.”

There’s a long list of groups that were also planning to use this funding to help their communities navigate things like the rising number of online scams that tend to disproportionately target the elderly. They’re all now shit out of luck because of a bunch of weird racist zealots (who like to pretend they’re saving taxpayer money with one hand, while setting it on fire with the other).

A driving motivation behind these attacks on online equity isn’t “saving money,” it’s dismantling government efforts to do anything about the problems created by consolidated corporate power. That means lobotomizing the FCC. It means killing programs that gave school kids free Wi-Fi. It means undermining efforts to protect U.S. citizens (in red or blue states alike) from fraud and robocall hell.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to insist his random-ass butchery of government is only “impacting Democrats”:

I’m not sure whose going to correct the misconceptions of freshly-fucked Trump supporters in red states, since Republicans also effectively lobotomized whatever was left of local news via a frontal assault on media consolidation limits.

I was not previously aware that the President of the United States could unilaterally destroy an act of Congress, freeze funding for beneficial bipartisan programs, lie about the impact repeatedly, and face absolutely zero repercussions whatsoever. Consider me properly informed.

Filed Under: broadband, dei, digital equity act, education, funding, states, telecom, trump

Companies: ndia