GAO Backs Better Evaluation of Lifeline; Thune Agrees, Pressing for Review Ahead of any Expansion
The GAO is recommending the FCC assess whether the Lifeline program is truly “efficiently and effectively reaching its performance goals,” prompting agreement from the FCC. GAO released a 49-page report Thursday, directed at Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D.…
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The report findings “highlight the need for a comprehensive evaluation of Lifeline’s effectiveness,” Thune said in a statement. “Before the FCC moves forward with fundamental changes or contemplated expansions to Lifeline, I urge the FCC to conduct a full program evaluation in accordance with GAO’s recommendations, including making public the results of the Broadband Adoption Pilot Program that ended last October.” GAO’s audit of Lifeline took place May through March. GAO emphasized the progress the FCC has made in overhauling Lifeline but said it hasn’t evaluated how effective these changes have been. "FCC does not know the extent to which the narrowing of the penetration rate is attributable to the Lifeline program,” GAO said. “FCC officials stated that the structure of the program has made it difficult for the commission to determine causal connections between the program and the penetration rate. In particular, FCC officials noted that because Lifeline has existed since the 1980s, it is difficult to compare results from the program to results in the absence of the program.” The report also discussed data privacy concerns and the FCC’s pilot broadband version of the Lifeline program, which had what it called a “low” enrollment and suffered from marketing concerns: “Without such planning, FCC now faces difficulties in evaluating the program without established benchmarks for success. Further, FCC does not know why large numbers of eligible households did not enroll in the pilot projects.”