Chairman Pai Letter to 30 Members of Congress Regarding the USF Cap

On Sept 19, 2019, 30 members of Congress wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai requesting the FCC discard any plans for setting an overall cap for the Universal Service Fund (USF) programs, claiming such a proposal would harm broadband deployment, among other things. On Oct 15, Chairman Pai responded saying that the FCC sought comment on a proposed overall annual budget of $11.42 billion, which is more than three billion dollars above current USF program disbursements. Chairman Pai said this amount would be adjusted regularly for inflation.