Republicans: 'Obamaphone' program is 'everything that's wrong with Washington'

The government shutdown isn't slowing down Republican criticism of the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline program, a phone subsidy for the poor.

In letter to FCC Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn, forty-four House Republicans called Lifeline a "failed program" that symbolizes "everything that is wrong with Washington." "Sadly, Lifeline has become a prime example of how the culture of dependency is weakening America," they wrote. The lawmakers, led by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said they would repeal the program if they could. The program is often derisively referred to as the "Obamaphone program," although it began long before President Barack Obama took office. Earlier in October 2013, the FCC proposed more than $14.4 million in fines against five companies for allegedly defrauding the program. The Republicans said they were surprised by the FCC crackdown but that it's too late to restore the public's trust in the program. They claimed that the program doesn't help the poor because the fees that fund it apply to all phone subscribers equally, regardless of their income. They asked Chairwoman Clyburn to consider requiring a $2 "co-pay" as a condition of participating in the program. They also asked for suggestions to cut the cost of the program in half by the end of 2014.