Don't bet on this Congress passing tech antitrust legislation — because despite all of the energy sponsors and advocates will put into it, the political consensus the bills would need is getting further away, not closer, Ashley reports.

Why it matters: A rare bipartisan moment of agreement that Big Tech companies are too big and powerful may be overshadowed by partisan differences over what should be done about them.

Driving the news: The Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee held a hearing on digital markets this month, kicking off the tech antitrust conversation again. But remember, bipartisan legislation failed to pass last year despite coming closer than ever to becoming law.

• Getting bills that would change the behavior of the country's biggest tech companies passed last Congress was already a tall order; with Republicans controlling the House, it's even harder because of dueling Big Tech priorities.
• At the hearing, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who has led efforts in the Senate, decried the failure of two bills, the Open App Markets Act and the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, in the last Congress despite bipartisan support.
• She blamed their defeat on aggressive lobbying by Big Tech.

The intrigue: Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan run the show in the House on tech, and neither have particularly supported the antitrust effort, focusing more on allegations that Big Tech companies "censor" conservatives.

• And Rep. Ken Buck lost his post as the lead Republican on the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, where he aggressively worked on tech antitrust with outgoing Rep. David Cicilline.
• One glimmer for antitrust reform supporters in the House: Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has championed aggressive anti-tech bills in the past as a member of the House Judiciary Committee.
• Another one to watch is House Energy and Commerce chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who has said she wants to explore Apple and Google's app store policies to determine "how their decisions to remove or host certain apps limits or increases consumer choice."

What they're saying: "It's obviously harder [this Congress]," Buck told Axios. "I don't think that [McCarthy] has talked about an antitrust solution recently, that reflects his priorities.... [I]t's going to really require the Senate to take the lead this time."

• "We cannot afford to waste another two years, getting nothing done, another two years for these monopolies to further entrench their power ... while the rest of the world moves forward," Klobuchar said last week.
• "[The bills] clearly do not have the momentum they had last time," because of Buck losing his post and Cicilline leaving Congress, one Republican lobbyist who works on tech issues told Axios.
• A bill that specifically targets app store behavior may have an easier road ahead, the lobbyist said: "[AICOA] will stay in the conversation thanks to advocates, companies and lawmakers who care about it; [OAMA] is more targeted and has good momentum."

The big picture: Moves to break up Big Tech companies will continue in the courts both in the United States and abroad, via ongoing FTC and Justice Department suits and action from the European Union.

Between the lines: Many Republicans say Big Tech is unfair to conservatives, but they're reluctant to give federal government agencies more power or money. This tension makes it extremely hard for them to legislate.

• "Democrats cannot support legislation to rein in Big Tech unless it leaves untouched the ability of the platforms to censor speech," reads a minority staff memo for last week's Senate Judiciary hearing obtained by Axios. Sen. Mike Lee, the ranking Republican on the antitrust subcommittee, has opposed AICOA.
• The minority memo also says a number of Republican senators declined to rejoin the bill in this Congress, though it hasn't been formally reintroduced yet. Sens. Klobuchar and Chuck Grassley are working together to reintroduce this legislation, a spokesperson for Klobuchar told Axios.
• Axios reached out to all six Republicans senators who signed on to AICOA last Congress. A spokesperson for Grassley emphasized ongoing support; others declined to comment.

Many Americans want Congress to handle threats to affordable and reliable internet access, according to research shared exclusively with Maria.

What they found: Nearly half of the respondents in the survey by global telecoms software provider Amdocs said it’s the responsibility of the federal government, including Congress, to ensure fair access. Just 18% said it’s up to the companies.

Why it matters: Lawmakers have dedicated billions of dollars to getting Americans online. But as the internet of things spreads, the progress made with that investment can be undermined, hitting low-income communities the hardest.

By the numbers: The survey details how emerging technologies (think the Metaverse’s use of AR and VR) and more smart devices in homes can make it more expensive to get fast internet service, highlighting the socioeconomic disparities in connectivity.

• 13% of low-income households have nine or more devices connected, compared with 41% of upper-class households.
• While 25% of low-income households would not pay more to improve internet services, only 15% of high-income households wouldn’t pay more.

Context: Funds for the Affordable Connectivity Program are expected to dry up next year unless Congress renews it. The program offers a monthly $30 broadband subsidy to millions of low-income households.

• The Biden administration announced this afternoon that outreach partners such as nonprofits and schools will get an additional $73 million for phone banks, door-knocking and other campaigns to spread the word about the ACP.
• Lawmakers are also facing pressure from administration officials, including FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel and White House infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu, to make sure the program continues.
• Both officials said in a call with reporters today that they’ve had positive discussions on the Hill.

Between the lines: The survey results are clearly helpful to tech and telecom companies. Amdocs provides software and services to these companies, which just 18% of survey respondents said were responsible for closing the digital divide.

• But the survey also provides a snapshot of what the public wants Congress to do — and what kind of talking points lawmakers are likely to hear at a time when the ACP is about to run out of money.

What they’re saying: "I strongly support preventing the Affordable Connectivity Program from lapsing," Sen. Ben Ray Luján, chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee broadband panel, told Axios. "This vital lifeline has been hugely successful in expanding broadband access across New Mexico and the country.”

• “Preserving this program must be a top priority.”
• Luján’s Digital Equity Foundation Act would create a permanent nonprofit to raise, leverage or match funding from companies, the government, and other entities to expand digital equity initiatives.

Methodology: This Amdocs-Dynata survey was fielded online Jan. 30 and is based on 1,000 U.S. consumers, 18+ in age.

• The margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.