T Elliot Gaiser
Whether FCC’s Lifeline Program is a Benefit Subject to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
The Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued a "slip opinion", concluding that the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline program constitutes both a "Federal public benefit" and a "Federal means-tested public benefit" under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), the federal welfare reform law. Because Lifeline meets both definitions, the program must comply with PRWORA's eligibility restrictions, which generally limit federal benefits to U.S.