FCC Lifeline Vote Provokes Backlash From Hill Republicans
Hill Republicans lashed out at the FCC’s Thursday expansion of the Lifeline program. One prominent Senate critic introduced legislation, the second piece on Lifeline that he has dropped in two weeks. The Ending Mobile and Broadband Welfare Act would prevent the FCC from expanding Lifeline to cover broadband service and end Lifeline's wireless support.
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“The Lifeline program is in desperate need of major reforms, and it is highly irresponsible for the FCC to even consider expanding this fraud-ridden, taxpayer program before putting accountability standards in place,” said Sen. David Vitter, R-La. “In addition to the egregious amounts of money thrown into this drain of a program, the FCC has failed to manage Lifeline efficiently. I will continue working to ensure that the FCC prioritize the implementation of new measures to authenticate, verify, and prevent abuse.”
Vitter introduced the bill Thursday, posting the text, and had introduced a bill last week to compel the FCC to disclose how much it cost companies to provide Lifeline-supported services.
Other Republicans expressed concern. “We are not convinced that the measures taken by the FCC to address waste, fraud, and abuse are sufficient to warrant the expansion of the program,” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said in a joint statement. “At our subcommittee hearing earlier this month, Committee members on both sides of the aisle expressed concern about the FCC fundamentally changing or growing Lifeline without fixing existing problems first. This expansion may be ‘too much, too soon’ for a program plagued with problems and a lack of accountability in recent years.” The FCC should “adopt critical measures to restore fiscal responsibility to ensure that the program serves those who truly need it” and “conduct a full program evaluation in accordance with GAO’s recommendations in its March 2015 report prior to adopting a final order expanding the Lifeline program to broadband,” they said.
House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., “cannot stand by as uncapped spending threatens to undermine the USF and its benefits," they said in a joint statement. “Unfortunately, it appears the order adopted by the FCC today -- which still has not seen the light of day -- fails to protect ratepayers from runaway costs and lacks necessary metrics to gauge performance.” The FCC needs to first “ensure the fund’s long-term solvency,” they said. “This includes capping the Lifeline program at its current level of $1.6 billion.”
Democrats defended the FCC’s move. “The steps taken by the FCC today to modernize Lifeline and add broadband ensures that low-income Americans will have access to this critical communications tool,” said House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. “It also furthers our nation’s progress toward bridging the digital divide.”
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., lauded the vote. “The FCC’s decision today is an important step towards ensuring that low income Americans will not be left with analog connections to the digital economy,” Markey said.