Justice Department Advises FCC to Strengthen Lifeline Verification
Opinion arrives as FCC reviews changes to enrollment procedures, including federal database checks.
WASHINGTON, June 1, 2026 – The Federal Communications Commission was advised Thursday to impose additional safeguards when verifying eligibility for Lifeline subsidies.
In a legal opinion, Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser concluded the program’s current enrollment process does not adequately verify immigration status and that compliance with a 1996 federal welfare law requires additional safeguards beyond collecting a subscriber's Social Security number.
