House, Senate Commerce GOP Leaders Seek FCC Inspector General Review of ACP Spending

Top Republican leaders on the House and Senate Commerce committees want the FCC's Office of Inspector General to review the commission's management of broadband money it received for the affordable connectivity program during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying in a letter to acting IG Sharon Diskin we obtained ahead of its Monday release that "it's important to understand" ACP's "record to date" as they decide whether to back extending its life. They seek answers by June 1. The request came ahead of a Wednesday House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee hearing that will be the panel's first specific foray into what’s expected to be a more critical look at recent broadband spending now that Republicans have the chamber majority.

House Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington and other GOP leaders have "serious concerns" about "the effectiveness of temporary" initiatives like ACP. "Despite the good intentions" of ACP and the predecessor emergency broadband benefit program, "questions have been raised regarding their effectiveness and FCC oversight over how program dollars have been spent," the lawmakers said. Also on the letter: Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz of Texas, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta of Ohio and Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota. "While much focus has been paid to reports of fraud ... it is equally if not more important to evaluate what quantifiable benefits have been delivered by the subsidies."

Rodgers and the other GOP leaders asked OIG to "determine to what extent the programs have accomplished the FCC’s stated goal of 'reduc[ing] the digital divide for low-income consumers' and ascertain the data behind" FCC Chairwoman Jessica "Rosenworcel’s statement that 'millions of families who previously could not get online or struggled to pay for this modern-day necessity are now connected' due to ACP." There "are strong indications that the programs have not been effective in increasing broadband adoption," the lawmakers said. They in part cited a 2022 Phoenix Center study that found "only five to 10 percent of subsidized participants were not previously online" and FCC surveys of ACP participants that "only 16 percent of respondents had no internet access prior to subscribing with" ACP. "This data suggests that the vast majority of tax dollars have gone to those who already subscribed to broadband plans prior to the subsidy and that the programs have been poorly targeted to the stated goal of reducing the digital divide," the Republicans said. "This fact has been confirmed by telecom companies participating in the programs, too."

"Unsurprisingly, it does not appear that the FCC has studied whether" ACP "is successfully targeting non-adopters," the GOP leaders said. "For years, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and other independent evaluators have criticized the FCC’s failure to study the Lifeline program" and the commission "seemingly" didn't learn from its "mistakes in designing the ACP; a 2023 GAO report criticized the FCC’s "'lack of specific targets and clarity' in defining performance goals and measuring the program’s progress." To "the extent that the FCC has attempted to measure success, it has focused predominantly on program participation rates," the lawmakers said: "But demonstrating that the program is popular does not prove its benefits." They seek detailed data on whether the FCC adequately targeted ACP "to households currently without broadband" and whether it "developed specific goals and metrics to track the ACP’s effectiveness and progress over time." The Republicans also want to know if the FCC "adequately communicated with participating providers to prepare for potential lapses in ACP funding."