No new taxes to fund the FCC’s Universal Service Fund

Washington has a familiar playbook when an outdated federal program runs into trouble: Rather than fixing what’s broken, it just finds someone new to pay for it. That is the danger Congress faces today with the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund. For nearly three decades, USF has helped connect rural communities, low-income Americans, schools, libraries, and rural healthcare providers. Those are important goals. However, the communications marketplace —nd the federal government’s role in broadband—has changed dramatically since Congress created the modern fund in 1996. [Sept 1]

[Cathy McMorris Rodgers served as a member of Congress from 2005 to 2025. She chaired the House Commerce Committee ]