House Commerce Leaders Request Public Transparency for FCC's COVID-19 Telehealth Program

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai requesting that the FCC provide additional transparency on the distribution of public funds through the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which Congress created in the CARES Act. As of June 10, the FCC has announced it has awarded more than $104 million of the total $200 million in appropriated funds through the COVID-19 Telehealth Program.  Many details of these awards, including entities that have applied but have not been approved to receive funding, are known only to the FCC. Chairmen Pallone and Doyle believe Congressional oversight of the funding awards is critical, especially to ensure that a broad variety of communities benefit from these limited resources. They are requesting the FCC provide more transparency into its decisions and take the following actions by June 19 and update the information weekly:

• On FCC’s public facing website, publish a docket that includes all of the applications the FCC has received for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program;
• Include information regarding applications that have been approved;
• For applications that have been approved, include information regarding the date on which funds were actually dispersed; and
• For applications that have been approved, include a summary of any uses or devices that were not approved for reimbursement.