Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell urged
Congress to approve legislation easing accounting rules that forced
the agency to freeze funds from the so-called E-Rate program earlier
this year.
"I hope that Congress is able to pass this legislation before
adjourning," Powell said in a statement.
The E-rate program, administered by the Universal Service
Administrative Co. (USAC), is used to subsidize Internet and other
communications in schools, as well as rural health care programs.
It is funded by companies that offer long-distance telephone service,
like AT&T Corp. and Verizon Communications which typically pass on
those charges to customers.
Without the accounting changes, Powell said, the agency could be
forced to seek more money from carriers to raise fees for the program.
In August the USAC was forced to freeze hundreds of millions of
dollars in funds for the E-rate program in order to comply with
accounting standards that govern the program.
Lawmakers in Congress have agreed to temporary changes in the
accounting rules as part of a package of telecommunications laws that
passed the House, but it's hung up in the Senate.
Although popular, the E-Rate program has also been dogged by
allegations of waste, fraud and abuse, prompting investigations by
federal prosecutors, the FCC and Congress.
[NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra . New articles daily.]
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