WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a hearing titled, “Addressing the Risk of Waste, Fraud and Abuse in the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline Program,” at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 6, 2017. The Lifeline program, which subsidizes telephone and broadband service for low-income consumers, was the subject of a recent study by the independent Government Accountability Office (GAO). In its report, GAO describes recurring failures of evaluation and oversight creating persistent risk of waste, fraud, and abuse and threatening the ability of Lifeline to serve its intended purpose.

Witnesses:

-  Mr. Seto Bagdoyan, Director, Audit Services, Forensic Audits & Investigative Service, Government Accountability Office
-  Commissioner Chris Nelson, Commissioner, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
-  Ms. Deborah Collier, Director of Technology and Telecommunications Policy, Citizens Against Government Waste
-  Dr. Jeffrey Eisenach, Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute; Adjunct Professor, George Mason University School of Law
-  Ms. Jessica J. González, Deputy Director & Senior Counsel, Free Press

*Witness list subject to change 

Hearing Details:

Wednesday, September 6, 2017
10:00 a.m.
Full committee

This hearing will take place in Russell Senate Office Building, Room 253. Witness testimony, opening statements, and a live video of the hearing will be available on www.commerce.senate.gov.

NOTE: Witnesses added on August 30, 2017