Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Ark., sought to ban Lifeline support for...
Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Ark., sought to ban Lifeline support for wireless services under the Universal Service Fund. His HR-3481, introduced last week, would kill funding for mobile for the program aimed at low-income households in one sentence: “A provider of…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
commercial mobile service may not receive universal service support under sections 214(e) and 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 … for the provision of such service through the Lifeline program of the Federal Communications Commission.” Griffin is a freshman who serves on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Internet. The bill was referred to the Commerce Committee. The FCC declined to comment. “I have heard from numerous Arkansans who have shared stories of dead relatives receiving free cell phones in the mail, individuals abusing the system by obtaining numerous free cell phones and recently I saw a electronic kiosk in a convenience store promoting free cell phones, all through a government run and taxpayer funded program called Lifeline,” Griffin said. “My bill returns the Lifeline program back to its original structure by ending federal subsidies for free cell phone services. This costly government cell phone program is costing American consumers, and my bill puts an end to it."