-E-Rate Update Though Funding Year 2006 is proceeding smoothly, the future of the E-Rate program is not totally assured. Though reforms and new regulations have calmed much of the concern about corruption and abuse of E-Rate funding, there are still legislators who want to limit the program.
Congress is in the process of rewriting the nation's telecommunications laws and the E-Rate is one area of debate. The House has completed its work, passing a bill that in no way alters the existing universal service fund or the E-Rate program. The Senate is still working on its version of the bill, which contains a number of E-Rate friendly provisions. The Senate bill was authored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK). The bill would grant the E-Rate program a permanent exemption to the Anti-Deficiency Act (ADA). The ADA requires that federal programs have the money in hand before issuing any funding commitments. Rigid application of that rule shut the E-Rate program down for three months in 2004. The Senate bill also calls for the FCC to establish a system to sanction applicants and providers who knowingly and repeatedly violate program rules, as well as creating performance measures for E-rate applicants. Most importantly, the bill proposes expanding the base of contributions to the universal service program (USP). Currently the universal service program is financed by payments from the telephone companies that provide long-distance services. But increased cell phone usage and services like VoIP are cutting into the payment base. Expanding the pool of telecommunications companies and services that contribute to the USP would go a long way toward providing program stability. Source: CRN It might be time to use old technology, pen and ink in a letter to your EL ECTED representative. I think it would be a good idea to get some of the digital natives you know to also express their opinions to their ELECTED representatives. They may like doing it online, but we have been told by some offices in the Nation's Capitol that fax and phones and letters directed to the individual's elected representative weigh in a lot more. I wish there was an initative, postcards from the people, that would be a technology postcard from interested individuals with a picture of the kids from the areas using media as technology. What about it? Bonnie Bracey Sutton _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
