Boucher USF Bill Could Address Markey, Matsui Concerns
Universal Service Fund legislation by Reps. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Lee Terry, D-Neb., could win more urban support by integrating aspects of two other USF bills introduced by Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Doris Matsui, D-Calif., said industry officials. But some warned that a combination could simultaneously cost the support of current backers of the Boucher-Terry legislation. The urban legislators’ bills, proposing new E-Rate and Lifeline programs to spur broadband adoption, may be at odds with the cost-saving focus of the Boucher bill, they said.
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All three bills are expected to be part of the upcoming USF reform debate in Congress, said Hill and industry sources. It’s possible parts of the Markey and Matsui bills will find their way into the Boucher-Terry bill, but it’s still up in the air, they said. Matsui’s bill (HR-3646) would create a USF Lifeline program for low-income Americans to subsidize broadband service. Markey’s bill (HR-4619), introduced Tuesday, would establish three E-rate pilot programs supporting broadband adoption (CD Feb 11 p8). The Boucher-Terry bill is still in the draft stage, but Boucher has said it would comprehensively revamp the fund to control costs and expand the revenue base.
Boucher has cited support for his bill from rural carriers that receive the most from USF, as well as the two biggest contributors, AT&T and Verizon. But the big urban carriers have also expressed interest in tackling poor broadband adoption among low-income households, an issue addressed in the Matsui and Markey bills but not in the Boucher-Terry bill. Not everyone endorses the two adoption- focused bills as written, said a wireline industry source, but Boucher might find a way to address the other legislators’ concerns without taking up their bills word for word.
The bills could potentially “fit together,” but questions remain, said Randy Tyree, legislative affairs vice president for the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies. While adding language from the urban legislators’ bills to rural members’ bill could win Boucher and Terry more support, it may raise concerns for current backers of the comprehensive reform package, Tyree said. OPASTCO supports the goals of the Matsui and Markey bills, he said, but has questions about from where the new programs would take money. The Matsui bill in particular could benefit rural areas, which also have low-income consumers, he said. But legislators must also ensure the high-cost program is adequately funded, he said.
ITTA likes the Markey and Matsui bills “conceptually,” but has questions about balancing the bills’ proposed USF expansions against efforts to manage the growth of the fund, said Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance President Curt Stamp. Boucher and Terry could potentially attract more urban interest by incorporating the other bills, but they may risk losing support from people who want to rein in USF costs, Stamp said.
USTelecom supports spurring broadband adoption but questions Markey’s approach, spokeswoman Anne Veigle said Thursday. “We are concerned … that there are populations beyond high-school students that are not addressed by this bill, and for whom increased adoption should also be an objective -- for example, grade-school kids, the elderly, minorities and rural Americans,” she said. “So we hope Congress will consider his proposal within the broader context of reforming the overall USF program to balance availability and adoption of broadband with the cost to consumers.”
In an interview late last month, Boucher said he hoped to move USF legislation “very shortly through the subcommittee and through the full committee and the House” (CD Jan 25 p1). Matsui said earlier this month she plans to work with Boucher, House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and others “to ensure that a path to universal broadband adoption becomes a reality this year.” Regardless of whether the three bills merge, Matsui and Markey likely will promote the virtues of their bills in upcoming Communications Subcommittee hearings on USF, said Stamp. It’s also possible the legislators will try to offer their bills as amendments, he said.
Various complications this month have made it unclear how soon Hill action on USF will come, industry sources said. Stamp said he heard Boucher wanted to at least introduce his bill in advance of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, due March 16, but this week’s snow and next week’s Presidents Day recess may be setbacks. Tyree expects USF to be an “open game” for the next year, he said. Boucher has indicated he wants to mark up his bill before the broadband plan’s release, but the Commerce Committee is facing a lot of other issues, too, including healthcare and the Toyota recall, he said.