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Ajit Pai works to cap funding for rural and poor people, gets GOP backing
The Federal Communications Commission has preliminarily voted to cap spending on the FCC's Universal Service programs, which deploy broadband to poor people and to rural and other underserved areas.
[...] Pai's plan, as we previously reported, would set a combined cap of $11.4 billion on the four programs that make up the Universal Service Fund (USF).
Pai's proposal says that capping the fund at this level "will strike the appropriate balance between ensuring adequate funding for the Universal Service programs while minimizing the financial burden on ratepayers and providing predictability for program participants." All four Universal Service programs are paid for by Americans through fees on their phone bills.
The proposed cap of $11.4 billion is the same as the sum of the four programs' budgets for 2018 and would be indexed to keep pace with inflation under Pai's proposal. The new cap wouldn't have an immediate impact on actual spending, because it's higher than current spending. The FCC projects that the USF's total disbursements will be $10.2 billion in 2019 and remain below $10.5 billion annually through 2023.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Sunday June 09 2019, @06:33PM (2 children)
If he didn't do all these horrible things, you think he would still have his job? He's just following orders, is he not?
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday June 10 2019, @11:36AM
That IS the real shame. Ajit Pai, working on his own, would be worthy of assassination. Ajit Pai, the Telco's bitch, isn't worth the powder to blow him away. The Telcos have kennels filled with bitches, each awaiting the opportunity to please their masters.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Monday June 10 2019, @02:03PM
Capping funding for poor and rural people is something that naturally would get GOP backing.
Follow my cynical thinking for a second.
If rural and poor people could get decent internet service, they would have batter 21st century access to news and information.
Being informed can affect how one votes.
Every performance optimization is a grate wait lifted from my shoulders.