Consensus eludes Boucher on universal service fund overhaul

For the past four years, Reps. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Lee Terry, R-Neb., have been trying to forge a consensus on legislation aimed at overhauling the universal service fund, a multibillion-dollar federal program that subsidizes telecommunications service in low-income and rural areas.

A hearing today before the House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee, now headed by Boucher, highlighted why it's taking so long.

While their latest approach, a draft bill released Nov. 6, has the backing of some key panel members and industry stakeholders, there are plenty of skeptics bemoaning its impact and demanding revisions. The measure would widen the base of industry contributors and expand the subsidies to promote broadband deployment while capping a key portion of the universal service fund -- all steps designed to update a program that even critics say is antiquated.

The hearing featured some noteworthy praise: House Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton, a longtime critic of the fund, said he is encouraged by the draft.

"I'm ready to take you to the prom," he quipped to Boucher, "But I'm not ready to marry you." Also supportive is Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., former chairman of the full committee.

But those and other endorsements were blunted by criticism not only from Republicans but from members of Boucher's party. Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Mike Doyle, D-Pa., praised a related measure offered by Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., that would launch an initiative to spur broadband adoption as part of any universal service overhaul.

Eshoo said Matsui's bill does a better job of ensuring that rural residents receive Internet service at the fastest speeds.

Also skeptical was Communications Subcommittee ranking member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., who balanced praise of the draft's "positive steps" with the complaint that more needs to be done to curb costs. He noted that the bill's funding cap contains exceptions that could increase the program's size.

In an interview Friday about the measure's prospects, Boucher acknowledged the challenges. "Members are taking a kind of a wait-and-see approach, in large part," he said, adding that the testimony presented today could help build more support.

"On the Democratic side, I think there's also something of a wait-and-see attitude about this," he said.

Boucher emphasized his measure has the backing of AT&T and Verizon, the nation's two largest telecommunications carriers, along with other service providers and some telecom associations.

Even though it is a draft bill, Boucher said it can be marked up if he formally introduces universal service legislation as part of the process. He has been coordinating his legislative efforts with the FCC, which is crafting a national broadband plan that will include recommendations about the fund. That plan is due to Congress Feb. 17.