Despite the FCC’s recent crackdown on Lifeline fraud,...

Despite the FCC’s recent crackdown on Lifeline fraud, more work needs to be done to rein in the growth in spending of a program that’s more than doubled in five years, Commissioner Ajit Pai told Citizens Against Government Waste Monday. Pai proposed setting an annual budget for Lifeline to “increase incentives to eliminate fraud and improve accountability within the program.” A cap on Lifeline spending would “prevent any future explosion in spending without direct Commission accountability,” he said. The FCC could prohibit Lifeline wireless carriers from giving free service for the program, Pai said, to remove the incentive for recipients to improperly sign up for more than one account. “Requiring some skin in the game would align the Lifeline program with our other universal service programs, each of which requires some contribution by recipients to cut down on waste, fraud and abuse,” he said. The FCC could empower states to play a stronger enforcement role by clarifying that states are free to take steps to ensure the program’s integrity, Pai said. Another option would be to lower the $9.25 monthly subsidy to “cut both the incentive for fraud and the phone bills for consumers who pay into the USF,” he said. The FCC should also begin requiring Lifeline carriers to keep proof of consumer eligibility for the program, Pai said. Companies that violate Lifeline regulations should be subject to forfeitures, he said.