Addressing Regulatory Burdens of the E-Rate Program

The American Library Association submitted remarks to the Federal Communications Commission in response to the In Re: Delete, Delete, Delete request for comments. ALA's comments focused on addressing the regulatory burdens of the E-Rate Program. Recommended changes include:

• Remove all FCC bid requirements and use the applicant’s current procurement requirements when bidding for E-Rate eligible services or equipment.
• Purchases of E-Rate eligible services and equipment of less than $10,000 (pre-discount) be exempt from Commission bidding requirements but be subject to current library and school bidding requirements.
• Collect student enrollment and lunch data only once every five years (as opposed to annually) and thus have a five-year discount.