February, 11 2016, 12:15pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Mia Jacobs,Communications Director, CPC,Email:,Mia.Jacobs@mail.house.gov,Phone: (202) 225-3106
81 House Democrats Offer Support, Guidance to FCC on its Plan to Expand Broadband Access through Lifeline Program
Today, Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Vice-Chair Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) and CPC Co-Chairs Keith Ellison (D-MN), and Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) were joined by 78 Democrats in expressing support and providing recommendations for the Federal Communications Commission's proposal to increase access to high-speed Internet for low-income families through its Lifeline program.
WASHINGTON
Today, Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Vice-Chair Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) and CPC Co-Chairs Keith Ellison (D-MN), and Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) were joined by 78 Democrats in expressing support and providing recommendations for the Federal Communications Commission's proposal to increase access to high-speed Internet for low-income families through its Lifeline program.
In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the group praised the agency's proposal to modernize the program by adding broadband to the list of services eligible for Lifeline subsidies. The letter also urged the FCC to issue specific guidance for the program that ensures it will meet the evolving needs of low-income Americans.
These recommendations include:
- Adopting minimum and flexible speed standards for entry-level plans to ensure that quality is not sacrificed for affordability;
- Making the Lifeline subsidy portable to all telecommunications services, whether offered as standalone services or as bundle packages, so consumers can pick the service that best meets their individual needs;
- Discouraging providers from using the Lifeline program as a means to commit consumers to long term billing relationships;
- Avoiding mandated credit checks, banking account requirements, and disclosure of subscription history that would be barrier to many low-income individuals; and
- Streamlining the eligibility verification process with other preexisting databases for federal assistance programs.
"High-speed Internet is not a luxury, it is a requirement for students to complete homework assignments, workers to find job openings, and families to connect with basic services," said Rep. Takano. "I strongly support the FCC's effort to modernize the Lifeline program and I'm hopeful they will adopt many of our recommendations, which are critical to achieving our shared goal of closing the digital divide."
"Millions of students and families are being left behind because high-speed Internet isn't available in their area or because it is too expensive," said Rep. Ellison. "Nobody should be forced to spend an hour on a bus to travel to a public library just to access a quality Internet connection. Modernizing the Lifeline program will help bridge our digital divide, and help millions of Americans who are being left behind."
"Few innovations have had a greater impact on daily life around the world than the internet," Rep. Grijalva said. "Given its power to open doors, expand horizons and empower users, we must ensure the internet is not reserved for only those with financial means. Each and every American deserves an equal opportunity to succeed in our society, and in the 21st century that means an equal opportunity to harness the power of the World Wide Web."
The 81 current signers are: Reps. Adams, Bass, Beatty, Becerra, Blumenauer, Bonamici, Boyle, Brown, Bustos, Butterfield, Capps, Capuano, Cardenas, Cartwright, Chu, Cicilline, Clark, Clarke, Cleaver, Cohen, Conyers, Costa, Cummings, DeLauro, Edwards, Ellison, Engel, Farr, Fattah, Foster, Gabbard, Grijalva, Gutierrez, Hahn, Hinojosa, Holmes Norton, Honda, Huffman, Jackson Lee, Jeffries, Hank Johnson, Kaptur, Keating, Kelly, Kirkpatrick, Lawrence, Lee, Lieu, Lewis, Lowenthal, Carolyn Maloney, McCollum, McDermott, McGovern, Moore, Nadler, Napolitano, Nolan, Pingree, Plaskett, Pocan, Rangel, Richmond, Tim Ryan, Linda Sanchez, Schakowsky, Bobby Scott, Serrano, Sewell, Sherman, Slaughter, Takai, Takano, Bennie Thompson, Titus, Tonko, Van Hollen, Veasey, Velasquez, Watson Coleman, Yarmuth.
A copy of the letter is available here.
Full Letter Text:
Chairman Tom Wheeler
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
Dear Chairman Wheeler:
We are writing in support of the FCC's proposal to modernize the Universal Service Fund's Lifeline program. In order to fulfill its purpose of meeting the changing needs of low-income Americans, the FCC should update the program to reflect the increasing importance of the Internet. Broadband has evolved to become an essential vehicle for expanding access to information, health services, educational resources, and employment opportunities. Often deprived of these opportunities due to the cost of broadband, low-income households are further disadvantaged in society.
To best serve these Americans, the Lifeline subsidy should be made portable to all telecommunications services whether offered as standalone services, or as bundle packages. This would allow the consumers to elect which service best meets their individual needs, applying the subsidy as a credit. Additionally, if a consumer is dissatisfied with a particular provider's service, they should be able to easily opt out and subscribe to another provider without transfer and disconnection fees. Not only would this best serve consumers and ensure they are receiving the best quality service at an affordable cost, but it would also encourage competition among providers to provide the best plan.
The FCC should also provide guidance on the program that discourages providers from using the Lifeline program as a means to commit consumers to long term billing relationships. The program should avoid requiring credit checks, banking account requirements, and disclosure of subscription history. Additionally, an ideal Lifeline broadband plan would be one that does not require the subscriber to contribute anything more than the subsidy. Under the basic, entry-level broadband subscription contract, consumers would not be required to make any investment in the providers' services, but they would also not be discouraged from upgrading their plans in the future should their needs change. The Commission should also instruct participating providers not to levy conversion or installation fees that would essentially be punishing the subscribers for taking advantage of the Lifeline program.
The broadband services available to the eligible households should not sacrifice quality for affordability. The standard would allow for functional, not subpar, internet access to define the entry-level Lifeline plan. Its flexibility would reflect evolving provider capability, program requirements, and support for higher speeds. The standard should also be relative to the capacity of an area as to prevent consumers from being excluded from applying to Lifeline because their community does not have the infrastructure to support higher speeds. Establishing a minimum standard prevents providers from taking advantage of the subsidy by offering second-class service that would not best serve the digital needs of an average American.
Acknowledging that many people access the Internet through their wireless devices, the FCC should include wireless Internet coverage under the Lifeline program to increase broadband accessibility for households. To account for the different capabilities of the two services, respective minimum standards should be established for each service. The standard for wireless should avoid small data caps, as well, to avoid overages resulting in fees for the consumer.
Rather than allowing providers to oversee the eligibility verification of consumers as the Lifeline program expands to include broadband, the FCC should streamline the process with preexisting databases for other federal assistance programs. This coordination would allow for co-enrollment, as many consumers eligible for programs such as SNAP or TANF would also be eligible to subscribe for Lifeline, but it would not eliminate the income-level qualifier. The process would remove the burden from qualifying Americans by simplifying the application process for not only Lifeline, but other assistance programs as well, and it would help improve program integrity.
We applaud the Commission's efforts to bring the Lifeline program up to date to 21st century standards with its proposed inclusion of broadband service. With this new service, low-income Americans would have the means necessary to access essential health and social services, educational resources, employment information, and communication networks. We encourage the Commission to implement the expansion as soon as possible, as we cannot be inactive and allow the digital divide to further deepen at the expense of the 53% of low-income households without broadband access.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is made up of nearly 100 members standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and advance civil liberties.
(202) 225-3106LATEST NEWS
'Blood on Their Hands': 79 US Senators Approve Billions More in Military Aid for Israel
Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of just three Senate Democratic caucus members to oppose the bill, said that "U.S. taxpayers should not be providing billions more to the extremist Netanyahu government."
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The final vote on the $95 billion package, which also included military aid for Ukraine and Taiwan, was 79-18, with just three members of the Senate Democratic caucus—Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)—and 15 Republicans opposing the bill.
Sanders called Tuesday "a dark day for democracy," condemning the upper chamber's refusal to even allow a vote on his proposed amendment to cut offensive military aid to Israel from the legislation.
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The bill, which passed the House over the weekend, now heads to the desk of President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign it in the coming days.
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The 79 senators who voted to pass Biden's foreign aid bill/expand Israel's genocide in Gaza: pic.twitter.com/bVQisvOndd
— Stephen Semler (@stephensemler) April 24, 2024
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As Tuesday's vote took place, thousands of Jewish New Yorkers and allies rallied outside of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) home to voice outrage over U.S. lawmakers' growing complicity in Israel's military assault.
"We're here as thousands of Jewish New Yorkers, calling on Senator Schumer to halt weapons funding to Israel as it massacres and starves Palestinians in Gaza," said Eva Borgwardt, national spokesperson for IfNotNow, one of the groups that organized the mass demonstration on the second night of Passover.
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"Urgent calls for peace are loudly echoing across the country but seem to fall on deaf ears on Capitol Hill."
Days before the Senate vote, mass graves were discovered at two Gaza hospitals that Israeli forces recently raided and destroyed. The United Nations Human Rights Office on Tuesday demanded an international probe into the mass graves, noting that bodies of Palestinians were found stripped naked with their hands tied.
"Victims had reportedly been buried deep in the ground and covered with waste," Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.
One Gaza official toldCNN that a total of 300 bodies were found in a mass grave at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis and that "there were signs of field executions."
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On the heels of the Senate vote, Agence France-Pressenoted that one of its correspondents and eyewitnesses "reported heavy bombardment of several areas of northern Gaza."
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"This is a huge testament to our collective strength and resilience as a progressive movement," said the executive director of Justice Democrats.
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Lee, a vocal critic of the Netanyahu government and leading supporter of a cease-fire in Gaza, handily defeated Bhavini Patel, a borough councilmember in Edgewood, Pennsylvania whose effort to unseat the progressive incumbent was bankrolled by Jeffrey Yass, the state's richest man. Patel actively courted Republican and pro-Israel voters, characterizing Lee as "fringe."
With more than 95% of the vote counted, Lee is ahead of Patel by more than 20 percentage points.
"I am so humbled and proud to win my first primary reelection to be the congresswoman for this incredible district I've spent my life fighting for," Lee said after the race was called in her favor. "Our campaign was built on a record of delivering for our democracy, defending our most fundamental rights, and expanding our vision for what is politically possible for our region's most marginalized communities."
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Opposing genocide is good politics and good policy. #CeasefireNOWÂ https://t.co/A7pnJNskWS
— Summer Lee (@SummerForPA) April 24, 2024
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While AIPAC ultimately sat out the Pennsylvania race, it is devoting considerable resources to ousting other progressive lawmakers, including Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.).
The pro-Israel lobbying group has endorsed Bush challenger Wesley Bell, calling him a "strong advocate for the U.S.-Israel relationship." As The Guardianreported last week, Bell has "raised more than $650,000 in earmarked contributions through the group Democracy Engine Inc. PAC—a donation platform that allows unpopular PACs to obscure their donations and lists AIPAC as a client on its LinkedIn page."
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We must be clear-eyed about what's next. @JamaalBowmanNY & @CoriBush are facing an existential threat from AIPAC, their GOP megadonors, and the politicians willing to compromise on core Democratic values to try to take a school principal & nurse out of Congress. #ProtectTheSquad
— Justice Democrats (@justicedems) April 24, 2024
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"The time to build more dirty and dangerous pipelines is over," said one environmental campaigner.
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Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC sent a letter Monday to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Secretary Debbie-Anne Reese seeking final permission to begin operation on the MVP next month, even while acknowledging that much of the Virginia portion of the pipeline route remains unfinished and developers have yet to fully comply with safety requirements.
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Russell Chisholm, co-director of the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) Coalition—which called MVP's request "reckless and impossible"—said in a statement that "we are watching our worst nightmare unfold in real-time: The reckless MVP is barreling towards completion."
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POWHR and activists representing frontline communities affected by the pipeline are set to take part in a May 8 demonstration outside project financier Bank of America's headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Appalachian Voices noted that MVP's request comes days before pipeline developer Equitrans Midstream is set to release its 2024 first-quarter earnings information on April 30.
MVP is set to traverse much of Virginia and West Virginia, with the Southgate extension running into North Carolina. Outgoing U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and other pipeline proponents fought to include expedited construction of the project in the debt ceiling deal negotiated between President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans last year.
On Monday, climate and environmental defenders also petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, challenging FERC's approval of the MVP's planned Southgate extension, contending that the project is so different from original plans that the government's previous assent is now irrelevant.
"Federal, state, and local elected officials have spoken out against this unneeded proposal to ship more methane gas into North Carolina," said Sierra Club senior field organizer Caroline Hansley. "The time to build more dirty and dangerous pipelines is over. After MVP Southgate requested a time extension for a project that it no longer plans to construct, it should be sent back to the drawing board for this newly proposed project."
David Sligh, conservation director at Wild Virginia, said: "Approving the Southgate project is irresponsible. This project will pose the same kinds of threats of damage to the environment and the people along its path as we have seen caused by the Mountain Valley Pipeline during the last six years."
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Others renewed warnings about the dangers MVP poses to wildlife.
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