Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, joined a new bipartisan Senate working group, led by U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), to evaluate and propose potential reforms to the Universal Service Fund (USF). The goal of this working group is to create a bipartisan forum to guide education, awareness, and policy-making on this topic. Others joining the group include U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.).
Specifically, the working group will consider the current state of the universal service requirements at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and consider possible reforms to ensure the commission is able to achieve its mission to promote and preserve universal service to all people of the United States.
“All options need to be on the table to modernize and update the Universal Service Fund to encourage and maintain universal service with our sights set on a more responsible, predictable, and prudent USF that truly serves Americans in need of support. It is my hope that this bipartisan working group will result in productive discussions and solutions that will bring us closer to bridging the digital divide,” Senator Capito said.