Rosenworcel Says Lifeline Cuts Could Hurt Access to Domestic Violence Hotlines; Pai Rep Disagrees
Cutting Lifeline support for 70 percent of current users “is cruel for those who have experienced domestic violence and rely on this service,” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said in a Wednesday opinion in Bustle. About 20,000 women, men and children…
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domestic violence hotlines daily, and many rely on Lifeline support to make calls, she said. To curb fraud, the FCC instead could ban phone companies that violate program rules or strengthen eligibility verification, she said. “Rosenworcel isn’t telling the truth about Lifeline, and it’s particularly unfortunate that she is invoking the serious issue of domestic violence to mislead Americans and oppose efforts to reduce Lifeline fraud," said a spokeswoman for Chairman Ajit Pai. It's false that focusing Lifeline on facilities-based providers would remove consumers from the program, the representative said. "Those customers would have the ability and incentive to simply switch to a facilities-based provider." Pai improved Lifeline, the spokeswoman said. "Dissatisfied consumers no longer need to wait a year before changing broadband providers, and Lifeline carriers can no longer get away with offering consumers 'mobile broadband' that really isn’t mobile broadband."