Democratic Reps Seek GAO Review of Lifeline Verifier

Some Democratic members of the House Commerce Committee have asked the Government Accountability Office to "review" the Federal Communications Commission's efforts to deploy the Lifeline National Verifier, which is meant to be a more efficient way to monitor who gets the Lifeline Universal Service Fund subsidies and make sure they are eligible for the money. They told GAO in a letter that they are concerned that the FCC is not doing all it can to deploy the verifier in a timely fashion, pointing to the fact that implementation has been delayed, combined with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's efforts to reform the program to cut out waste, fraud and abuse, an effort he said spurred his decision to cut off funds to several new applicants until the FCC gets a better handle on how the money is given out. They want the GAO to prioritize the verifier review and that it answers a number of questions, including whether the FCC has a strategic plan for implementing the verifier program "on time," what steps it has taken to implement that. Signing on to the letter to GAO were Reps Bobby Rush (D-IL), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Mike Doyle (D-PA), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Jerry McNerney (D-CA) and Evette Clarke (D-NY).