FCC's E-Rate Program Splits Markey, Moulton in Their Second TV Primary Debate
After Markey plugged $80 billion in E-Rate spending since 1996, Moulton responded, ‘I don’t think that any family of teenagers out there tonight thinks that our kids are safe from the Internet …’
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E-Rate: A political fight broke out last night in Massachusetts over a multibillion-dollar FCC program. One of Sen. Edward Markey’s proudest achievements is the E-Rate, the FCC’s $2.4 billion annual budget to connect schools and libraries to the Internet. In a one-hour debate last night at the Dedham studio of Fox affiliate Boston 25, Democrat Markey’s Senate primary opponent – Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton – tried to turn E-Rate into a Markey liability, stemming from problems associated with kids’ excessive screen time and unrestricted access to harmful content. “A good model is not what the Congress did with the [1996] telecom bill that the Senator is so proud of,” Moulton said. “As a father of two little girls, I frankly dread the time when they become teenagers and get on social media. That should be the lesson of what not to do. We need to protect our kids.” (More after paywall)
