FCC Commissioner Carr's Statement on Affordable Connectivity Program Rules

I have been focused on ensuring that every dollar the FCC allocates through its programs goes to the families that Congress intended to benefit. And that is why I have been raising serious concerns since the beginning of last year about the risk of massive levels of waste, fraud, and abuse [in the Affordable Connectivity Program]. (The commissioner cited a November 2021 report by the FCC's Office of the Inspector General which identified some fraud in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.) Protecting [the Affordable Connectivity Program] from waste, fraud, and abuse will require ongoing and diligent oversight. And I remain concerned that the dollars Congress intended to reach eligible households will be siphoned off by bad actors. 

Commissioner Carr recommended the FCC add a requirement for consumers to provide the last four digits of their Social Security Number to be able to "identify fraud more quickly," yet the agency voted to not to include the requirement. Unfortunately, the votes were not there to include this important safeguard. For my part, I wish we had listened to the FCC’s Inspector General on this. And I am worried that future reports on the ACP program will identify the absence of this requirement as a key, contributing factor to waste, fraud, and abuse. That is why I am dissenting from the FCC’s decision not to include this safeguard.