“While CTIA appreciates the interest some have expressed in limiting the size of the Lifeline program through a cap on the total amounts that may be distributed, CTIA believes that capping the Lifeline program may be counterproductive to encouraging low-income consumers to adopt communications services that are essential to participation in today’s economy. A cap on the Lifeline program will inherently exclude an undetermined number of the eligible low-income consumers. Because the Lifeline program provides support only to means-tested recipients and serves a purpose more akin to other low-income government programs that are not subject to caps, it is reasonable to distinguish Lifeline from other Federal USF programs that are appropriately subject to a cap.”
Excerpt from testimony offered on Wednesday by Scott Bergmann, VP of Regulatory Affairs at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association before the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Communications and Technology. The subcommittee held a hearing on seven telecommunications bills, one of which was the CURB Lifeline Act which seeks to reform the Lifeline program and cap the federal USF.