Republicans and Democrats from the House Commerce Committee...
Republicans and Democrats from the House Commerce Committee requested information from the FCC on the agency’s USF programs. They sent a letter Friday (http://1.usa.gov/13HZd57) and specified that the information requested is an update to previous requests from July 2012, reflecting…
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reforms to the FCC programs. The agency should send them a state-by-state list of how the funds were disbursed throughout the high-cost and low-income programs in 2010, 2011 and 2012 as well as a list of states that have their own USFs and their purposes, the letter said. It also wants a state-by-state list of the eligible telecom carriers that receive Lifeline support and a history of the FCC’s decision-making in moving forward with some of the reforms. Other requests touch on what companies received certain levels of high-cost support and how many Lifeline subscribers were de-enrolled as part of the FCC’s recertification process last year. The letter was signed by Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich.; Ranking Member Henry Waxman, D-Calif.; House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore.; and Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. The letter “continues a standing bipartisan request to the FCC for data to aid the committee in its oversight of the fund, prevent waste, fraud and abuse, and ensure the taxpayers are getting the most benefit for every USF dollar,” said Upton and Walden in a statement. The request for data “ensures that the committee has the most up-to-date performance information so that Universal Service subsidies can be maximized to spur further broadband growth in critical areas of the United States,” Eshoo added.