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July 19, 2004 The
Honorable John McCain
Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and
Transportation
255 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman
McCain: On
an issue of critical importance to rural America, more than 80 independent organizations
and state leaders from across the nation have come together with more than 110
members of the Senate and House from both sides of the aisle - all of them united
in urging Congress to fix a vital piece of the federal Universal Service Fund
(USF) this year. Congress
established the USF to replace the old system of "implicit" rural phone subsidies
and ensure affordable, up-to-date telecom services in all parts of rural America.
However, under current rules, most rural areas receive little or no support from
the USF if they are served by one of 30 so-called "non-rural carriers," which
actually serve the majority of rural consumers. Instead, under this key component
of USF, nearly 90 percent of the funding goes to just five states. Another five
states split the remaining 10 percent, and 40 states - including Arizona and many
others with significant rural areas - receive zero support. The
U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the funding formula for this program
in 2001. The Federal Communications Commission had a chance to respond to the
court's concerns and fix the formula. But in October 2003, the Commission issued
slightly revised rules that kept the discredited approach in place. We
appreciate that USF has other problems. But those may take years to resolve. Meanwhile,
every year that goes by without a Congressional correction of this key USF program
is another year that a handful of states reap enormous windfalls, while deserving
communities in 40 states are left to fend for themselves. In
the pursuit of fairness for all of rural America, and on behalf of our colleagues
nationwide (entire list attached), we thank you for your leadership on this issue
and ask you to schedule a Committee vote on legislation to fix this problem as
soon as possible. Sincerely,
Western Governors
Association
American Farm Bureau Federation
National Grange
Communications
Workers of America, District 7
Hispanic Business Roundtable
National Indian
Telecommunications Institute
Cc: Members of Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation | 
