34 Dems Sign on to Matsui USF Reform Letter

House Energy & Commerce Committee member Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) has collected 34 Democratic signatures on a letter to the chairman of the FCC on Universal Service Fund reform.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has said recently the commission is in the home stretch of voting on its plan to reform the fund and migrate it to broadband subsides from traditional phone service.

Matsui began circulating the letter for member signatures last week.

The letter asks the chairman to ensure that its USF reforms include funding for broadband adoption as well as deployment, and that the FCC cap the fund.

"[W]e believe it is clear that uncontrolled growth of the fund is unsustainable," they wrote. "Further, as the reform process moves forward, we encourage the Commission to maintain its firm commitment in the National Broadband Plan to impose responsible and enforceable budget discipline."

The letter was sent to the FCC Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for Matsui.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.