We Can't Let the FCC Disconnect Millions from Phone and Internet Service
In the next few months, the FCC will vote on a proposal to dismantle the Lifeline program, a move that would disconnect millions of people from vital communications services.
Lifeline provides a modest $9.25 monthly subsidy so that people living below the poverty line can connect to phone and internet services. The program benefits poor people, people of color, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.
The rollback, proposed by FCC Chairman Pai and supported by the GOP majority, would devastate millions of people across the country and make it that much harder for poor people to connect with their families, access educational and economic opportunities, or even make lifesaving calls for help.
Chairman Pai has spent the last year talking about how the FCC will finally close the digital divide, but his plan to destroy Lifeline and disconnect millions would only worsen a problem he claims to care about.
Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, the one remaining Democrat at the FCC, is vehemently opposed to the Lifeline rollback. She recently noted how disconnecting millions of people from phone and internet service is not only cruel, but also dangerous, especially for domestic-violence survivors who are seeking help.1
And worse still, Pai’s plan to gut Lifeline would cut off hundreds of thousands of people struggling to recover in hurricane-stricken areas like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.2
Don’t let Chairman Pai and Commissioners Carr and O’Rielly disconnect millions and leave them without vital forms of communication. Call the FCC today and tell the agency to abandon the plan to gut the Lifeline program.
1. “How the FCC Will Make It Harder for Domestic Violence Survivors to Get Help,” Bustle, June 6, 2018: https://www.bustle.com/p/how-the-fcc-will-make-it-harder-for-domestic-violence-survivors-to-get-help-9306922
2. “Stop the FCC’s Plan to Disconnect Hurricane Survivors,” Free Press, April 29, 2018: https://www.freepress.net/our-response/expert-analysis/explainers/stop-fccs-plan-disconnect-hurricane-survivors