Senate Commerce Won't Hold Lifeline Hearing Next Week Amid Recess Timing Uncertainty
The Senate Commerce Committee ruled out plans for a hearing next week on the FCC Lifeline USF program despite earlier interest, a spokesman told us. Senate Commerce Staff Director Nick Rossi told reporters after a markup that the committee was…
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interested in scheduling a hearing on the issue if there were certainty that the Senate wouldn't be in recess then. Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters he believed the chamber was likely to recess at the end of this week, making a hearing before Labor Day unlikely. The hearing appeared likely to center on issues GAO identified in a June report on the program's continued management “weaknesses” (see 1706290037), two lobbyists said. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., recently refiled his End Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act (HR-3546) in a bid to curb the Lifeline program. The bill failed on the House floor last year (see 1606220020).