Kansas Delegation Calls on FCC to Restore USF High Cost Program’s Budget

The Kansas congressional delegation called on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to restore sufficiency and predictability to the Universal Service Fund (USF) High Cost program’s budget. The letter was signed by every member of the delegation, including Sens Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Reps Roger Marshall (R-KS), Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Kevin Yoder (R-KS) and Ron Estes (R-KS). “Full funding of the program, as designed, helps ensure that rural Kansans have access to high-quality, affordable broadband and voice services comparable to those available in urban areas as mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996,” the members wrote. “These services are necessary if rural communities are to compete in a global economy. The insufficient and uncertain USF budget continues to hamper rural providers’ efforts to strategically invest in rural broadband at a time when the federal government has made rural broadband a national priority.”