South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Testifies at Thune-Led Hearing on the Failures of the FCC’s Lifeline Program
“I have no doubt that the Lifeline program provides a critical service for many low-income Americans, including my constituents, but I think we need an honest assessment of how best to deliver such services to those who need them the most.”
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today led a hearing titled, “Risk of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline Program.” The Lifeline program, which subsidizes telephone and broadband service for low-income consumers, was the subject of a recent study by the independent Government Accountability Office (GAO). In its report, GAO describes recurring failures of evaluation and oversight creating persistent risk of waste, fraud, and abuse and threatening the ability of Lifeline to serve its intended purpose.
At the invitation of Thune, South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Chris Nelson testified at the hearing and emphasized that “states must remain involved in Lifeline oversight.