Libraries and schools probably won't begin receiving universal-service telecommunications discounts until this fall, Schools and Libraries Corporation CEO Ira Fishman testified at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing July 16. "We've had a lot of challenges in our first year that have affected our schedule,'' Fishman told the committee.
Fishman said the corporation is responding to new recommendations by the General Accounting Office, such as reviewing randomly sampled applications and obtaining an independent auditor's report certifying appropriate safeguards against waste, fraud, and abuse. He agreed with the GAO's stance that the recommendations should be implemented before any money is disbursed.
"I give everybody an 'A' for effort but cannot give you very high grades for what you have accomplished since the bottom line is that not one school or library has yet received this service,'' scolded Committee Chair Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "The expectations were that this program would be on the road long ago.''
Posted July 20, 1998.