The Republican-Backed 'CURB Act' Aims to Limit Broadband Aid for the Poor

On April 13, the GOP-controlled House Communications Subcommittee held a hearing on a new bill that would reduce the Lifeline budget to $1.5 billion and set a hard cap on the program. Public interest groups say the “Controlling the Unchecked and Reckless Ballooning of Lifeline Act of 2016,” or CURB Act, which was introduced by Rep Austin Scott (R-GA), could severely undermine the Lifeline program and potentially exclude millions of low-income people from receiving its benefits.

“Capping the fund at roughly its present funding level—when about two-thirds of eligible people aren’t getting the support they deserve—is short-sighted at best,” Matt Wood, policy director at Free Press Action Fund. “At worst, it’s an intentional slap in the face, and a blatant attempt to cut off entire communities from our modern economy and democracy.” In a letter to Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, along with several other public interest groups, expressed their opposition to Rep Scott’s bill, saying it runs counter to the spirit and purpose of the Lifeline program. “This cap could halt payments to eligible consumers mid-stream or result in unacceptable waiting lists for eligible households or other unreasonable and administratively cumbersome management mechanisms,” wrote the groups, which include the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Media Justice, and Common Cause.