Chairman Pai's Respone to Senator McCaskill Regarding Lifeline Enforcement Actions

On Dec 1, 2017, Sen Claire McCaskill (D-MO) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai requesting information about the steps the FCC is taking to recover forfeiture penalties it proposed four years ago against Lifeline carriers that had profited from violating program rules. 

On Jan 17, 2018, Chairman Pai responded by writing, "Once I became Chairman of the Commission, I prioritized the long-overdue resolution of these 12 Lifeline cases. As you noted in your letter, FCC Chairman Wheeler transferred these matters to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Under my chairmanship, however, nine of these cases were subsequently returned to the Enforcement Bureau and re-opened. As discussed in the attached material, the FCC has resolved seven of the 12 cases, including reaching settlements in five of them, and expects to resolve two more soon. Three cases remain with the Office of Inspector General."