Don’t let talk of a grand infrastructure compromise in Washington, D.C., fool you: There is still a gulf between Democrats and Republicans. The BRIDGE Act is the first major bipartisan legislation to address internet infrastructure in the new Congress. Unfortunately, this legislation would fail to live up to its name and bridge the digital divide. It turns out that spending money on political constituencies does little to expand internet access where it’s needed most.

Before examining the shortcomings of the BRIDGE Act, it is worth mentioning some ways in which this legislation is an improvement on previous proposals. The Biden administration suggested spending $100 billion on broadband build-out, and Republicans countered with a plan for $65 billion. By contrast, the BRIDGE Act is far more reasonable with “only” $40 billion. While that’s still an excessive amount of money given that current government funding hasn’t even been spent yet, any sign of fiscal restraint in Washington is noteworthy.