FCC Chairman Pai on the Future of Broadband in the Lifeline Program

As we implement the Lifeline program—as with any program we administer—we must follow the law. And the law here is clear: Congress gave state governments, not the FCC, the primary responsibility for approving which companies can participate in the Lifeline program under Section 214 of the Communications Act. This is how the program worked over two decades, over three Administrations, and over eight Chairmanships. However, the FCC last year rejected this bipartisan consensus, snatching this legal responsibility away from states and deciding to create its own federal ‘Lifeline Broadband Provider’ designation process.

At the time, I explained why the Commission lacked the authority to do this. Twelve states, from Vermont to Wisconsin, are currently challenging the legality of the FCC’s order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In my view, it would be a waste of judicial and administrative resources to defend the FCC’s unlawful action in court. I am therefore instructing the Office of General Counsel to ask the D.C. Circuit to send this case back to the Commission for further consideration. And the FCC will soon begin a proceeding to eliminate the new federal designation process. In the meantime, we must consider the Lifeline Broadband Provider applications that are pending at the FCC. In last year’s order, the Commission delegated to the Wireline Competition Bureau the authority to address such applications. I do not believe that the Bureau should approve these applications.