Lawmakers Aiming to Circulate Draft USF Framework This Summer

Proposed reforms to a major federal broadband subsidy program are still taking shape on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers are aiming to circulate a discussion draft of legislation that would modernize the $8.5 billion-per-year Universal Service Fund. Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission, which manages the fund, is asking for input on whether it should make changes to the nonprofit it delegated accounting and administrative duties to. The inquiry largely does not overlap with issues raised in a lawsuit attacking the legality of both USF and the nonprofit, called the Universal Service Administrative Company.