Jan. 25, 2018 — A letter from a number of members from the U.S. House Energy & Commerce aasked the Government Accountability Office (GAO)  to review the FCC’s efforts to deploy the Lifeline Program National Verifier — an initiative that aims to verify subscriber information for Lifeline Program participants and ultimately increase the integrity of the Lifeline Program.

House Dems Ask GAO to Review FCC Progress on Lifeline Program National Verifier

In November, the FCC adopted the Lifeline reform revamp and FCC chairman Ajit Pai revoked the most recent round of certifications to new applicants until the FCC addressed the verification issue, but the letter from House members expresses concern that the FCC is not doing all it can to launch the Lifeline Program National Verifier in a timely fashion. In their letter to the GAO, they called for prioritization of the Lifeline Program National Verifier and requested answers to a number of questions, including whether the FCC has a strategic plan for implementing the program on time and what steps it has taken to implement that.

Representatives who signed the letter included Bobby Rush, Frank Pallone, Anna Eshoo, Mike Doyle, G.K Butterfield, Doris Matsui, Jerry McNerney and Evette Clarke.

Source Ref.:  B&C News, House Dems Seek GAO Review of Lifeline Verifier  By John Eggerton