Prominent Republicans Continue to Question USF’s Future without Reforms
Former Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), who led the Energy and Commerce Committee for one term, calls for USF’s overhaul before lawmakers consider new revenue sources
Former Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), who led the Energy and Commerce Committee for one term, calls for USF’s overhaul before lawmakers consider new revenue sources
USF: Political positioning over reform of the FCC’s Universal Service Fund continues unbated. Former Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers just warned that Congress should reject proposals that sought to make Big Tech or broadband ISPs pay into the USF, arguing the program needed a full overhaul before lawmakers considered new revenue sources. In a Washington Times op‑ed (‘No new taxes to fund the FCC’s Universal Service Fund’), she wrote, “Washington has a familiar playbook when an outdated federal program runs into trouble: Rather than fixing what’s broken, it just finds someone new to pay for it.” (More after paywall)

A Colorado ISP also disputed the state’s claim that it misused grant funds
CWA also wants USF contributions to include broadband, enterprise connectivity, and cloud service review
As AI shifts from chatbots to agents that act on networks, operators need to cap what an agent can do before a human signs off
The ruling is separate from a previous case where a judge found the Pentagon acted illegally against Anthropic for its criticism of AI use.
America250 / Telecom150
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