Dive Brief:
- The National Digital Inclusion Alliance is suing the Trump administration for eliminating a Digital Equity Act grant program, saying the termination violates the separation of powers between the congressional and executive branches.
- NDIA, a nonprofit, was awarded $25.7 million earlier this year for “digital navigator” programs that serve 30,000 people across 11 states before the federal government pulled the funding in May, according to the lawsuit filed last month.
- “Libraries and local organizations across the country had well-developed, innovative proposals ready to serve people of all ages and backgrounds,” John Chrastka, executive director of the EveryLibrary Institute, said in a statement. “The Administration’s decision to terminate this program denies those communities a fair chance to participate in the digital economy and undermines the bipartisan intent of Congress.”
Dive Insight:
The DEA was established to expand digital access as part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included $2.75 billion in grant funding to close the digital divide for “communities that have not yet secured the skills, technologies, and support needed to take advantage of broadband connection.”
The day he took office, President Donald Trump announced his intent to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from within the federal government, instituting a “sea of change,” according to NDIA’s lawsuit, filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
On May 8, Trump wrote on social media that the DEA was “UNCONSTITUTIONAL” and a “a RACIST and ILLEGAL $2.5 BILLION DOLLAR GIVEAWAY.”
The following day, NDIA said it was informed its grant had been terminated.
NDIA said the DEA serves covered populations with lower broadband internet adoption than the national average and that over 80% of Americans fall within at least one of the “covered populations.” These include an array of circumstances that contribute to the digital divide such as “age, geography, household income, disability, veteran status, language barriers, and ethnicity or race.”
“The goal of the Digital Equity Act is to ensure that everyone has access to essential resources, whether it be access to employment, healthcare, or education,” stated Gillian Cassell-Stiga, senior counsel of the Digital Justice Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
