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Senate Debates Permanent E-Rate FixThe Senate Commerce Committee held an April 11 hearing to consider legislation (S. 241) proposed by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) that permanently exempts the e-rate program—which funds discounted telecommunications services to libraries and schools—from certain government accounting rules.“Enacting a permanent solution must be one of our highest priorities this session,” urged Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), one of the bill’s cosponsors, recalling the disruption of funds in 2004 that was remedied after Congress passed legislation to temporarily exempt the Universal Service Administrative Company, which administers the program, from having to comply with new FCC accounting rules for one year. ALA Office of Government Relations Director Lynne Bradley agreed: “We know libraries and schools count on this funding,” she told American Libraries. “We can’t wait till December to do this again.” Testifying on behalf of the Government Accounting Office—which issued a March 16 report citing flaws in the program and its oversight by the FCC—Director of Strategic Issues Patricia Dalton suggested Congress defer a decision on permanently exempting USAC from the Antideficiency Act and grant a two- or three-year exemption instead. Meanwhile, investigation into reports of waste and fraud in the program continued, with six companies indicted on allegations of defrauding the program, the Associated Press reported April 8. Posted April 15, 2005. |
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