On Wednesday, March 5th, 16 NDIA Affiliates from across the country, half of the NDIA team, and several of NDIA’s partners spent the day on Capitol Hill to share with Congress how you—NDIA’s 2,000 affiliates—help people in their districts get and stay online safely.
In total, we had 65 Meetings with staff from Senate and House offices from 23 States. We met with staff from both committees that oversee digital equity and broadband policy in the Senate and House—the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. We got to sit in on a live hearing that the House Energy and Commerce Committee hosted on broadband programs. And bonus, some affiliates even got to meet their representatives in person!
Our goal was to educate Members of Congress about the essential work that digital inclusion practitioners do across the country and how vital it is to the Members’ other goals and priorities. We also dedicated time to ensure that Congressional Members and their staff understood the fundamentals of the Digital Equity Act (DEA), including its purpose, how it interacts with other broadband programs, and its current (precarious) status.
Before our visit, many of the offices we met with were unaware of the Affiliate’s work, the concept of digital inclusion, or the importance of the DEA’s role in it. Although we do not yet know what the future holds for the DEA, our discussions provided Members of Congress from both parties with a better understanding of the value of digital inclusion work and the significance of the DEA. Overall, the time spent on these meetings was worthwhile.
We encourage those of you who are able to also reach out to your Member of Congress to share your organization’s story, how digital inclusion work impacts their constituents, and why full implementation of the DEA is essential for ensuring communities can fully access the internet and all its benefits. We’ve created lots of templates and resources so you don’t have to start from scratch. We even have some tips for structuring your meetings and templates for creating profiles of your Senators or Representatives so you go into the meeting fully prepared. More resources are coming soon too, so keep an eye out.
We are incredibly grateful for the time and effort each affiliate put into organizing the event. We also appreciate our partners at Public Knowledge, the Open Technology Institute at New America, Free Press, Media Justice, and Common Sense, whose support was invaluable. Pew Charitable Trusts hosted us for training and preparation. Additionally, Spitfire Strategies provided training for all attendees on how to prepare for and engage with the media, while G Fiber sponsored a wonderful dinner for attendees to connect with one another and build community.
