[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3118 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3118

    To direct the Federal Communications Commission to revisit the 
      universal service support program under section 254 of the 
 Communications Act of 1934 to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 6, 2011

 Mr. Farenthold (for himself, Mr. Flores, Mr. Coffman of Colorado, Mr. 
   Kingston, Mr. Paul, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Nunnelee, Mr. Harris, and Mr. 
  Mulvaney) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Federal Communications Commission to revisit the 
      universal service support program under section 254 of the 
 Communications Act of 1934 to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. UNIVERSAL SERVICE PROGRAM.

    (a) Forbearance Authority Rescinded.--
            (1) In general.--As of the date of enactment of this Act, 
        the Federal Communications Commission may not forbear from the 
        requirements of section 214(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 
        1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(e)(1)) with respect to the designation of 
        an eligible telecommunications carrier.
            (2) Transition period.--On the 120th day after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission 
        shall suspend the designation of a telecommunications carrier 
        as an eligible telecommunications carrier if such designation 
        was received through forbearance of the requirements of such 
        section.
            (3) Amendment.--Section 214(e) of the Communications Act of 
        1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
            ``(7) Clarification.--The charges referred to in paragraph 
        (1)(B) for such services shall be more than zero.''.
    (b) Contribution.--
            (1) Amount.--The amount collected to support universal 
        service under section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
        U.S.C. 254) each year shall be the same amount that was 
        collected for fiscal year 2011.
            (2) Savings reduction.--Of this amount, $500,000,000 shall 
        be transferred each year to the General Fund of the Treasury 
        and shall not be available for obligation or expenditure.
    (c) Reform Lifeline and Link-Up Programs.--Not later than 120 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 
Commission shall complete a rulemaking to implement the following 
reforms to the programs providing universal service support to low 
income consumers, commonly known as the Lifeline and Link-up programs, 
under such section 254:
            (1) To ensure that the programs are only supporting service 
        for 1 telephone connection per household (regardless of whether 
        that telephone is provided through a landline or a commercial 
        mobile service), the Commission shall establish a database and 
        shall require an eligible telecommunications carrier under 
        section 214(e) of such Act to--
                    (A) include participation information in the 
                database on all households that qualify and are 
                receiving service from such carrier through the 
                Lifeline or Link-Up programs; and
                    (B) use the database to determine if a Lifeline or 
                Link-Up customer is already being served by another 
                provider before establishing new service or continuing 
                service.
            (2) The Commission shall update the form used by an 
        eligible telecommunications carrier to make a reimbursement 
        claim from the universal service support mechanisms under 
        section 254 of such Act to provide information sufficient to 
        identify and prevent duplicate reimbursements.
            (3) The Commission shall require all eligible 
        telecommunications carriers providing commercial mobile 
        services to implement a 60-day inactivity policy.
            (4) The Commission shall implement guidance for the 
        Universal Service Administrative Company on how to recover 
        improper payments made to eligible telecommunications carriers.
                                 <all>