Congress this week approved a $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund that schools and libraries will use to help people get Internet access at home. The fund is part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan stimulus sent to President Joe Biden yesterday after being approved by the House and Senate. Biden signed the bill into law today.

The emergency fund should help students who live in areas where broadband is available but cannot afford it. This emergency measure may just be a prelude to a $94 billion broadband package that includes $80 billion to deploy high-speed broadband to parts of the US that do not have it.

Democrats introduced the $94 billion broadband initiative yesterday—it isn’t yet clear whether or when it will pass, but such initiatives have a much better chance now that Democrats control the White House and both chambers of Congress.

The $94 billion bill is based on legislation introduced last year. That bill passed the House in July as part of a larger package but did not make it through the Senate, which was controlled by Republicans at the time.

Advocates for more affordable and widespread broadband are excited about the bill’s prospects in the Democratic-controlled Congress. “The [Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act] is expected to move in tandem with broader infrastructure proposals emanating from the House and the Biden administration,” Free Press said.

The bill also includes a provision that would eliminate state laws that prevent the growth of municipal broadband. Clyburn, Klobuchar, and Congressional staff “took a bill that was excellent when passed [by the House] last July and made it even better,” said Gigi Sohn, a longtime consumer advocate who was an FCC official during the Obama administration. “The result is a bill that will make great progress towards bringing Internet access to the tens of millions in the US who don’t currently have it. Congress should pass this bill without delay.”

More at Ars Techica.