'Obama phone' video puts spotlight on FCC

Conservatives have seized on a viral video of a woman saying she plans to vote for President Barack Obama because he gave her a free phone, arguing it highlights a wasteful government handout.

The conservative Drudge Report displayed the video at the top of its website last week, and radio host Rush Limbaugh pointed to the video to argue that President Obama is making people dependent on the government. Although there is no such thing as an "Obama phone," there is a federal program to help low-income people get access to phones. The program, called Lifeline, is managed by the Federal Communications Commission and began long before President Obama took office. Congress first enacted the Lifeline program in 1985, during the Reagan administration. In 2005, under President George W. Bush, the FCC expanded the program to cover low-cost cellular service. The program pays for phone service, not the phones themselves. But many companies that receive funding through the program offer free and low-cost phones to their subscribers. The discounts average $9.25 per month for qualifying households, and the program is funded through fees that the telephone companies pass on to consumers on their monthly bills. The point of the program is to ensure that everyone has access to basic communications services, especially during emergencies.