Waxman wants to know how much AT&T, Verizon, others receive from Universal Service Fund

Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on Monday sent letters to 24 companies seeking information about how much money they receive from the Universal Service Fund's high cost program and how they spend it. The program, which is funded through a surcharge on long-distance bills, helps underwrite the cost of phone service in rural areas and other places where telecom companies otherwise might not build networks. Chairman Waxman (D-CA) sent letters not only to the big Bell phone companies, Sprint Nextel Corp. and other industry giants, but also to tiny rural carriers that are major recipients of Universal Service funding. Although small rural carriers insist that Universal Service provides a lifeline to places where it is simply too expensive for the private sector to go, many in Congress and at the Federal Communications Commission warn that the current program is not sustainable.