Senate Commerce Sets Sept. 6 Lifeline Hearing, Senate Homeland Security Aims for Sept. 14

14, several communications sector lobbyists told us. GAO said the Lifeline program’s management remains deficient despite FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. efforts to improve controls over finances and enrollment by low-income consumers. The report also identified broader problems in USF contribution system oversight and the commission's use of a private bank account rather than the Treasury Department to store $9 billion in USF net assets (see 1706290037). GAO Forensic Audits and Investigative Service Director-Audit Services Seto Bagdoyan, Citizens Against Government Waste Director-Technology and Telecommunications Policy Deborah Collier, American Enterprise Institute visiting scholar Jeffrey Eisenach and South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Chris Nelson are to testify at the Senate Commerce hearing, the committee said. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell. Senate Homeland Security hadn't announced its hearing at our deadline, but it's expected to include testimony from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, two lobbyists said. Senate Homeland Security and the FCC didn't comment. Neither hearing is surprising given both Senate committees' existing interest in the GAO's Lifeline report, the lobbyists said. Senate Commerce intended to hold its Lifeline hearing before Congress' August recess but postponed it amid uncertainty about when the Senate would recess (see 1708020029). Senate Homeland Security leaders urged the GAO earlier this month to refer its report to the FCC Enforcement Bureau and Office of Inspector General “for further investigation and possible enforcement action” (see 1708150023).