Setting the record straight on the FCC Lifeline program

[Commentary] Much has been made in the media over the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline program, which helps make telephone service more affordable for poor families. Most of the media coverage, however, has been slanted and misleading.

Last month I testified at a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce’s subcommittee on Communications and Technology titled “The Lifeline Fund: Money Well Spent?” My testimony provided a factual account of the history of the Lifeline program and the ways in which it is bettering lives today. Stories in the media of corporate abuse for profit have drowned out the stories of the very real people that use Lifeline as a tool to improve their lives and move away from government assistance. The vast majority of Lifeline recipients are grateful seniors, deserving veterans and folks who are going through the hardest times of their lives — facing job losses, illnesses, disability and family tragedies. Lifeline enables the most vulnerable members of our society with access to 9-1-1 emergency services, the cellular AMBER Alert notifications and the emerging wireless emergency broadcast system Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN) that saved lives during Hurricane Sandy. For these people, Lifeline literally lives up to its name and must continue.

[González is the vice president of policy and legal affairs for the National Hispanic Media Coalition]