Ellison, Other House Lawmakers Urge Pai to Reconsider Plan to Transfer USF Funds to Treasury
Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman and Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and three other House members urged FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Wednesday to reconsider a preliminary plan to move USF funds to the Treasury Department as early as next year, saying…
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the proposal “would harm our constituents, and would be contrary to the congressional intent of the USF.” The FCC is planning to move the USF funds in response to a May GAO report on the Lifeline program that found broader problems in USF contribution system oversight and the commission's use of a private bank account rather than Treasury to store $9 billion in USF net assets (see 1706290037). The lawmakers noted their concerns that the report didn't include data following FCC's adoption of its 2016 Lifeline overhaul order in its analysis. The GAO's funds transfer recommendation “was specific” to Lifeline and it's “unclear if the adverse effects this move will have on the other programs that utilize the USF, such as the Connect America Fund, were considered when the suggestion was made,” Ellison and other lawmakers said in a letter to Pai. Reps. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., and Steve Pearce, R-N.M., also signed. “Moving the USF to Treasury risks the only federal program directed to maintain rural broadband being zeroed out and having adverse effects on the overall livelihood of these communities,” the lawmakers said. “We do not condone waste or abuse in any program. However, there are other options to pursue the goal of reform without resorting to transferring” USF funds to Treasury. The FCC "received the letter" and is reviewing it, a spokesman said. The Senate Homeland Security Committee will hold a Lifeline hearing hearing Thursday (see 1709130053).