Universal Service Fund

In an effort to expand the use of telecommunications services by low-income Americans, the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline program offers subsidies to qualifying low-income households. In recent years, the program has undergone significant reform and more modifications have been proposed.

In its ninth annual E-Rate Trends Report, compliance firm Funds For Learning finds the Federal Communications Commission's connectivity discount program for schools and libraries remains crucial to providing broadband access for many, with 88% of applicants expecting bandwidth needs to grow in the next three years. Among the findings: 82% of E-rate applicants report that home internet access for students or library patrons remains insufficient, 70% find that the program's competitive bidding rules are lowering internet service prices, and 88% report Wi-Fi is "extremely important" to meeting

This April, I joined President Donald Trump at a White House event, where I announced my plans to create the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, a modernized approach for connecting the hardest-to-serve corners of our country. Today, I’m circulating a proposal to formally establish this program. If adopted, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund will mark the Federal Communications Commission’s single biggest step yet to close the rural digital divide and will connect millions more rural homes and small businesses to high-speed broadband networks.

Fourteen Members of Congress wrote to the Federal Communications Commission to express concerns about a proposal to cap the Universal Service Fund. They say imposing a cap would unnecessarily cut funding to USF programs and would force each of the programs to compete for funding. They remind the FCC commissioners that the House unanimously voted to prohibit implementation of this proposed rule.

The Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program is a vital source of support for connectivity to—and within—schools and libraries. In particular, the E-Rate program provides funding for internal connections, which are primarily used for Wi-Fi, a technology that has enabled schools and libraries to transition from computer labs to one-to-one digital learning. We propose to make permanent the approach adopted by the FCC in 2014 to fund these internal connections.

According to the Senate Joint Economic Committee, there are 12 million kids all across the country who lack the internet access they now need for nightly schoolwork.  According to the Associated Press, nearly one in five students nationwide falls into the Homework Gap. We are a nation that finds problems and fixes them. Here are my ideas. First, we need to gather data locally and raise awareness. I think every city and town can build their own local assessments to understand what is behind their Homework Gap.

On May 31, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on establishing a cap on the Universal Service Fund (USF) and ways it could enable the FCC to evaluate the financial aspects of the four USF programs in a more holistic way, and thereby better achieve the overarching universal service principles Congress directed the FCC to preserve and advance. The Notice set deadlines for filing comments and reply comments at 30 days and 60 days, respectively, after publication of the Notice in the Federal Register.

On July 1, 2019, the Benton Foundation urged the Federal Communications Commission to dismiss a proposal that would require E-Rate program participants to pay more than is required by mandating less competition than is available. The FCC's E-Rate program makes broadband and telecommunications services more affordable for schools and libraries around the country.