The FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. should “comprehensively assess fraud risks to the E-rate program and follow leading practices when designing and implementing data analytics to prevent and detect fraud,” GAO said in a report sought by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. The FCC Office of Inspector General reported to Congress in 2017 that the commission’s ability to detect and deter E-rate fraud was limited because of lack of oversight controls. GAO said Wednesday it found E-rate’s program design allows participants to “self-certify” and lacks sufficient FCC oversight to “identify potential fraud risks. For example, an applicant could receive payments for services they've claimed to have provided, but don't have the documentation.” Reliance on self-certification “is an inherent overarching key fraud risk affecting the E-rate program application and funding phases,” the auditor said. “This key fraud risk presents opportunities for applicants, service providers, or consultants to misrepresent dozens of self-certification statements on various application and funding FCC forms.” Other key fraud risks include “opportunities to misrepresent compliance with competitive-bidding requirements,” instances where “various E-rate program participants” can “collude” and potential conflicts of interest “when an E-rate consultant or Educational Service Agency represents both the applicant and service provider in the same transaction.” The proposed coordinated FCC-USAC assessments of E-rate fraud risks should include “implementing their respective plans for developing periodic fraud risk assessments, examining suitability of existing fraud controls, and compiling fraud risk profiles, GAO recommended. The FCC chairman should ensure the commission and USAC “follow the leading practices in GAO’s Fraud Risk Framework when designing and implementing data-analytics activities to prevent and detect fraud as part of their respective antifraud strategies for the E-rate program.” The FCC should direct USAC “to clearly define and fully document the data fields in all relevant E-rate program computer systems to help improve FCC’s ability to understand and use data to manage fraud risks,” GAO said. The FCC agreed about the recommendations. Coordination with USAC on E-rate assessments “complements” the regulator’s “existing efforts and will help the Commission and USAC to build on those efforts to mitigate fraud risk,” said FCC Managing Director Mark Stephens and Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith in an attached letter. The FCC and USAC “have been working collaboratively to incorporate the use of data-analytics activities into our fraud risk management plans and starting last year, began using data analytics in the context of investigation and enforcement.” The FCC plans to “direct USAC to better document and define the data fields in its E-Rate systems, with an initial focus on the key data fields that USAC relies on most to administer” the program, Monteith and Stephens said. USAC declined to comment.

Senate Republicans filed their new COVID-19 aid bill Tuesday, the Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act, with more than $70 billion in Department of Education funding that can be used for schools to pay for remote learning. The measure doesn’t include specific broadband funding. The House-passed Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HR-6800) included connectivity money (see 2005130059). The new bill also doesn’t have other tech and telecom provisions Senate Republicans put in a late July aid proposal (see 2007280059), including funding to implement the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998). Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., filed for cloture on the measure and said a final floor vote could happen this week. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the bill as Republicans’ bid to “’check the box’” and “maintain the appearance that they’re not held hostage by their extreme right-wing that doesn’t want to spend a nickel to help people.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged members of Congress to “appropriate timely and temporary funding in a technologically-neutral manner outside the existing E-Rate and other Universal Service Fund programs” for remote learning during the pandemic.

Senate Republicans filed their new COVID-19 aid bill Tuesday, the Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act, with more than $70 billion in Department of Education funding that can be used for schools to pay for remote learning. The measure doesn’t include specific broadband funding. The House-passed Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HR-6800) included connectivity money (see 2005130059). The new bill also doesn’t have other tech and telecom provisions Senate Republicans put in a late July aid proposal (see 2007280059), including funding to implement the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998). Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., filed for cloture on the measure and said a final floor vote could happen this week. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the bill as Republicans’ bid to “’check the box’” and “maintain the appearance that they’re not held hostage by their extreme right-wing that doesn’t want to spend a nickel to help people.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged members of Congress to “appropriate timely and temporary funding in a technologically-neutral manner outside the existing E-Rate and other Universal Service Fund programs” for remote learning during the pandemic.

Senate Republicans filed their new COVID-19 aid bill Tuesday, the Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act, with more than $70 billion in Department of Education funding that can be used for schools to pay for remote learning. The measure doesn’t include specific broadband funding. The House-passed Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HR-6800) included connectivity money (see 2005130059). The new bill also doesn’t have other tech and telecom provisions Senate Republicans put in a late July aid proposal (see 2007280059), including funding to implement the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4998). Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., filed for cloture on the measure and said a final floor vote could happen this week. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the bill as Republicans’ bid to “’check the box’” and “maintain the appearance that they’re not held hostage by their extreme right-wing that doesn’t want to spend a nickel to help people.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged members of Congress to “appropriate timely and temporary funding in a technologically-neutral manner outside the existing E-Rate and other Universal Service Fund programs” for remote learning during the pandemic.

The FCC released guidance for applications to the agency’s $100 million Connected Care Pilot Program, said a news release and public notice Thursday. The PN includes information on how healthcare providers can prepare for the application process and will be followed by a subsequent PN with detailed application procedures and timing for an application window, a release said. “This year, our country has pivoted to a newer model of delivering health care, one that finds connectivity at its core,” said Chairman Ajit Pai. He thanked Commissioner Brendan Carr for leading here. “We worked to stand up this Pilot Program to support the delivery of care directly to patients,” Carr said in a separate release, calling it “Carr’s Connected Care Pilot Program.” The program is open to eligible nonprofit and public healthcare providers, the PN said. To prepare to apply, providers will need an eligibility determination and healthcare provider number from Universal Service Administrative Co., the PN said. The program will use USF funds “to help defray costs of connected care services for eligible health care providers, providing universal service support for 85% of the cost of eligible services and network equipment,” not including devices.

A total of 505 short-form applications were received for the Rural Digital Opportunities Fund Phase 1 auction, with 121 deemed complete and 384 incomplete, said a public notice Tuesday. Corrected, completed applications for the Oct. 29 auction must be submitted by Sept. 23 to participate, the notice said: “Late resubmissions will not be accepted.” The Office of Economics and Analytics also denied five requests for waivers of the short-form deadline, from Native Network, SmartSky Networks, Affinity Technology Solutions, Elektrafi and Little Miami Gig. “None of the Petitioners has met the essential requirement of showing that waiving the deadline will serve the public interest,” said an order Tuesday. “Enforcing the deadline, not waiving it, is fundamental to the public interest in an effective auction mechanism for distributing universal service support.”

Lifeline providers are looking to FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly as a potential avenue for shifting a draft order circulated last month (see 2007300064) that would change the formula setting the minimum service standard to produce an MSS of 4.5 GB per month, said an industry attorney and an FCC official. That’s lower than the 11.75 GB the MSS will require starting in December without FCC action but higher than the freeze at the current 3 GB requested by virtually all Lifeline docket commenters. “We want them to do something, but we want it to be something that won’t harm Lifeline subscribers," said Public Knowledge Senior Policy Counsel Jenna Leventoff. “Vulnerable low-income Americans shouldn’t be left behind during this COVID-19 pandemic,” said attorney Judson Hill, who represents Lifeline provider TruConnect.

Some lawmakers and advocates believe Capitol Hill’s inability to agree on an additional COVID-19 aid bill that includes broadband funding presents an opening for the issue to become a focus during the presidential and congressional campaigns this fall, they told us. Congress provided some related funding in March via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (see 2003250046).

Some lawmakers and advocates believe Capitol Hill’s inability to agree on an additional COVID-19 aid bill that includes broadband funding presents an opening for the issue to become a focus during the presidential and congressional campaigns this fall, they told us. Congress provided some related funding in March via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (see 2003250046).

Some lawmakers and advocates believe Capitol Hill’s inability to agree on an additional COVID-19 aid bill that includes broadband funding presents an opening for the issue to become a focus during the presidential and congressional campaigns this fall, they told us. Congress provided some related funding in March via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (see 2003250046).