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| Sen. Sessions |
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) accused the Federal
Communications Commission on Thursday of failing to prevent fraud and abuse in
its cellphone subsidy program for the poor.
According to The Hill, Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget
Committee, sent a letter to Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn, demanding
more information about what the FCC is doing to ensure that only eligible
people receive subsidies.
The program, called Lifeline, has been derisively referred
to as the "Obamaphone" program, although it began long before Obama
took office.
Congress first enacted the Lifeline program in 1985 during
the Reagan administration to provide landline phone access. In 2005, under
President George W. Bush, the FCC expanded the program to cover cellphone
service. To qualify, people must have an income at or below 135 percent of the
poverty level or receive other federal subsidies such as food stamps.
The program pays for phone service, not the phones
themselves. But many companies that receive funding through the program offer
free and low-cost phones to their subscribers. The program is funded through
fees that the telephone companies pass on to all consumers on their monthly
bills.
Lifeline gained more attention last year when conservatives
seized on a viral video of a woman saying she would vote for President Obama
because he gave her a free phone.
The FCC has aggressively defended the importance of the
program, but acknowledged widespread problems with fraud and abuse.
Lifeline has grown from costing $822 million in 2008 to more
than $2 billion in 2012.
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