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Monthly phone bills are never fun to pay. But like so many families know, owning, using, and paying for a cell phone is part and parcel of life in this new age of technology. Cell phones connect us to our loved ones, enable us to do business, and give more and more people access to the internet – arguable the defining tool of the 21st Century. Cell phones are unlike any other piece of technology in the sheer number of people who own them; according to a recent poll over 90% of all adult Americans own at least one cell phone. Hidden in the details for those cell phone bills are fees directed to the Universal Service Fund, an account that subsidizes the cost of cell phones for millions of Americans

Over the past five years there has been a massive increase in the government subsidized, taxpayer funded, free cell phone program called Lifeline. While any welfare program is susceptible to, and often fraught with fraud, the free government phone e” program, sometimes referred to as the Obama Phone program, stands out in its vulnerability. In fact, according to a recent article by National Review, over 40% of those currently receiving a free cell phone cannot prove their eligibility, and the Federal Communications Commission acknowledges as common multiple wireless service providers seeking reimbursement for providing free cell phone service to the same households. Taxpayers are paying for duplicative corporate welfare. This needs to end.

Like so many federal programs, the Lifeline program began with good intentions. It was started back in the 1980s as a way to ensure elderly and needy Americans had access to land line phones in case of emergency. However, when Lifeline was expanded to offer mobile phone subsidies, between 2008 and 2009, non-landline Lifeline costs doubled – from $143 million to $384 million. In 2010, the cost exceeded $719 billion; in 2011, $1.215 billion; in 2012, $1.744 billion. Overall program costs grew from $822 million per year in 2008 to $2.189 billion in 2012.

Arkansas Representative Tim Griffin introduced a commonsense bill that will put an end to Uncle Sam’s unlimited plan by eliminating the federal subsidy for free cell phones, returning the program to its original land line purview. Congresswoman Foxx is a proud cosponsor of this legislation, the Stop Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act, and supports its passage through Congress. This is just one of the ways Congresswoman Foxx is fighting against government fraud that costs North Carolina taxpayers each month. Any taxpayer-funded welfare program, such as the Lifeline program, must serve only those who qualify for help, and certainly shouldn’t be manipulated to provide corporate welfare to wireless providers.

Government Advertisements for Lifeline’s Free Cell Phone Program: