Millions of people think the free government cell phone program will always be there when they need it most. But that almost changed last week in Washington, DC.
You might not think a 207-143 vote looks very close. But we think it’s far too close for comfort when the subject of the vote was the possibility of ending the free government cell phone program.
That was the vote when the House of Representatives voted down legislation that would have cut off subsidies that pay for the Lifeline Assistance free government cell phone program. You have to give the bills supporters a little bit of credit for their honesty. Instead of hiding the purpose of the bill behind some deceptive name (as so often happens in the District of Columbia), this bill was titled the “End Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act.”
Just to be clear, the vote was 207-143 in favor of killing the free government cell phone program. Luckily, this was one of those odd situations that required 2/3 of the votes to be passed. That means the Lifeline Assistance program would have gone up in smoke if the bill’s sponsors had been able to convince just 26 more members of the United States House of Representatives to switch their votes. In that case, the 233-117 would have taken away free government cell phones from millions of needy Americans who depend on them.
The dastardly legislation was proposed by Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia. It would have ended the $9.25 per month subsidy paid to cover the cost of cell phone service for financially-struggling Americans who qualify for them because of their low-income or because they also participate in other state and federal assistance programs.
As InsideSources.com reports, “… the program’s budget exploded from $819 million to $2.19 billion between 2008 and 2012 as a result of subscribers and wireless providers fraudulently enrolling multiple times.” Opponents of Lifeline Assistance have repeatedly pointed to the extraordinary level of fraud, waste and abuse that plague the program. And they do, indeed, have a point. The FCC’s efforts have attacked the problem head-on and cut hundreds of millions of dollars in so-called fraud, waste and abuse.
For example, the FCC recently slapped Total Call Mobile with a remarkably (but well-deserved) $51 million fine. Total Call’s unforgivable sin was intentionally “enrolling tens of thousands of duplicate and ineligible consumers.”
An analysis performed on behalf of FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai determined that more than a dozen other Lifeline providers also bypassed the National Lifeline Accountability Database (NLAD). The result according to Pai? Approximately one-third of all new free government cell phone customers enrolled between October 2014 and February 2015 were fraudulent.
Pai claims that these ineligible customers defrauded the Lifeline Assistance program out of $476 million.
Nevertheless, the FCC is feeling so positive about its efforts that it recently voted to increase the budget to $2.25 million in 2016 and to expand Lifeline benefits to include broadband internet.
Do not feel too complacent. Opponents of the Lifeline program see last week’s defeat as a mere skirmish in a longer war that they intend to win. For example, Representative Austin has already introduced new legislation that would cut the Lifeline budget from $2.25 billion to just $1.5 billion.
This may be news to you, but it is certainly not news to us. We have ranted and raved and pleaded with our readers to report an fraud, waste or abuse when they see it. It is the responsibility of those who desperately need the program to make sure that it isn’t abused by those who don’t need it.
If you are not vigilant, who will be?
If you don’t protect yourself, who will?
Here’s a link (click here) to an article we ran several years ago. It tells you exactly how to report fraud, waste and abuse. Please read it. Take it to heart. Do the right thing when it needs to be done.
If you don’t, the day will come when Representative Austin wins.
And that means you will lose.
Unconvinced says
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Free Government Cell Phones says
Untrue, Unconvinced. We only run the ads placed by Google Adsense serves, and Adsense doesn’t serve malware. In our tech guru’s opinion, you probably have some other virus issue on your device.
kentuckywoman2 says
I guess I must just be one of those honest people who wouldn’t think of trying to commit fraud for this program. I’m truly grateful for the service and I am also greatly humbled, because there was a time in my life when I never would have dreamed that i would end up being this poor.
That said, I’m not sure exactly HOW people defraud these programs. I mean, we have to give them our name, address, and social security number. It would seem to me that cross checking these applications across companies would be the smart thing to do. Is there no database where companies can check to see if applicants are signed up elsewhere?
It may be impossible to completely eliminate fraud, but surely there must be ways to reduce it! How does the food stamp program ensure that one person only signs up once? Or the housing authority? It seems to me that if there is a national database that all these cell phone companies could use to verify both eligibility and that only one phone is used per household, by cross-checking by name, address, and social security number, that would pretty much reduce the possibility of fraud.
Like I said, I would never think of trying to get more than what I’m supposed to receive, but I suppose that households that have more than one adult or teenagers likely do try, because everyone wants their own phone. And while this may be an unpopular alternative, one could virtually eliminate the fraud entirely by limiting lifeline assistance to landline phones only, or by somehow tying a cellphone to a landline in terms of availability per household.
I mean, issue a cell phone, but list it as a landline for purposes of restricting household members to one phone. I’m sure there must be a way to do this. It’s too bad that the service cannot be both. I mean, have the lifeline service be both a landline and a cellphone service with one number that can be used as both a landline and a cellphone. Somebody ought to be able to come up with a workaround that works.
But just to say, even though there are some people who do commit fraud, it’s not fair to penalize the rest of us who do not. Make those people who get caught pay a heavy fine, ban them from ever using a lifeline phone again, and if they manage to do it twice, give them a jail sentence. Maybe that would help deter those who would commit fraud.
Free Government Cell Phones says
The fraud isn’t all committed by customers, KentuckyWoman. Unscrupulous agents get paid for each person they sign up, which is all the motivation many of them need to commit fraud and to enroll people who don’t really qualify. The FCC recently fined one Lifeline Assistance company more than its annual income because its agents had committed so much fraud.
Joel says
The main issue I see with people getting these phones is the people getting them when 1. They don’t need the phone because the person already had a cell phone. 2. They get phones from multiple lifeline sources. 3. The phones are used for illegal activity. 4. They trade these phones for illicit drugs/favors. The area I live in is very high in homelessness/criminal activity, and I have witnessed people trading these phones for illegal stuff, much like the SNAP cards are traded for drugs, etc. I understand that criminals will use whatever they have at their disposal to be criminals, but these people need to be held accountable for these actions and fraud.
Free Government Cell Phones says
Two comments from us, Joel, but we’re pretty sure our readers will have lots of others.
“1. They don’t need the phone because the person already had a cell phone.” Who are you to determine need? They may give their phones to their children or parents and use the free government cell phone to keep in touch with those children or parents.
“2. They get phones from multiple Lifeline sources.” If that’s true, it’s fraud and you should report those cases when you see it. The government has cracked down on this type of fraud by using a national data base of all Lifeline users. In theory, it should now be impossible for anyone to get multiple phones. Of course, some people will figure out a way to get around any rules, but that’s true in any endeavor in life.
Readers?
Angelina A Chavez says
I would appreciation a representative with whom I may speak on the telephone my phone # is (928) 337-4461. for same reason communication is not clear concerning my physical address.
Free Government Cell Phones says
You need to contact your service provider directly, Angelina. We are an independent website that’s not affiliated with any of the free government cell phone service providers.
Angelina A Chavez says
I have a concern regarding the acceptance of my physical address which is ***** 2nd St. E St.*****, Arizona, 85*** where I live. I receive monthly bill from Direct TV. They services my satellite at this address whenever the need occurs.
Thank you.
Free Government Cell Phones says
We’d love to answer your question, Angelina, but we’re not sure what it is.
Angelina A Chavez says
this is my information
Free Government Cell Phones says
This is our information. Tag. You’re it.