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# Task Force Calls for Congress to Cement USF’s Legal, Financial Foundations
- URL: https://broadbandbreakfast.com/task-force-calls-for-congress-to-cement-usfs-legal-financial-foundations/
- Published: 2026-08-19T19:20:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-30T21:49:18.000Z
- Description: Report advocates modernization as FCC considers retrenchment across major programs
- Author: Jericho Casper
- Tags: Funding, #with-siderail, USF, Brendan Carr, Mignon Clyburn, Rachelle Chong, Harold Feld, Congress, SHLB, KOCC, Lifeline, E-Rate, High-Cost program

WASHINGTON, August 19, 2026 – Congress should reinforce, not retreat from, the Universal Service Fund as the nation moves deeper into the broadband era, a report released Tuesday argues.

The [report](https://0fe761eb-30de-470a-8131-bd80229aca9a.filesusr.com/ugd/5be6a9%5F56c493525c024909aba4b84dbaf3be04.pdf?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com), released by Keep Our Communities Connected and the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, finds that the USF has “never been static” and should continue to evolve as communications technology changes. It calls on Congress to address the long-term structural, legal, and financial sustainability of the $8+ billion fund, while preserving its core mission of ensuring affordable, reliable communications access for all Americans.

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The USF has supported the nation’s digital infrastructure for nearly three decades, subsidizing connectivity for schools and libraries, rural health care providers, low-income households, and rural network buildout and maintenance. But funding uncertainty, and recent legal challenges have put the fund’s long-term footing in question.

The Federal Communications Commission, tasked with overseeing the program’s operations, has also embarked on a broad review of its major programs under Chairman **Brendan Carr**. 

Carr has pointed to fraud findings in the Lifeline program as justification for closer scrutiny, and the FCC adopted a proposed rulemaking in February calling for “a comprehensive look” at Lifeline eligibility. Carr has told industry audiences that E-Rate and the High-Cost program will get similar treatment in the coming months.

Modernization and long-term institutional durability are central themes of the report, which is the product of a task force co-chaired by former FCC Commissioners **Mignon Clyburn** and **Rachelle Chong**, and draws on consumer advocates, industry representatives, education and health care stakeholders, and policy experts over roughly four months of deliberations.

The task force lays out six core principles for lawmakers and the FCC, including preserving universal service as an enduring national commitment, strengthening its legal footing, ensuring stable long-term funding, modernizing affordability programs, improving administration and accountability, and preparing the fund for future connectivity needs.

### *Legal uncertainty persists despite Supreme Court ruling*

The report calls on Congress to consider clarifying statutory language around the FCC’s authority, the roles of Congress versus the agency, and the fund’s contribution methodology. 

Task force participants could not agree on whether the FCC already has authority under the Communications Act to modernize how USF contributions are collected.

The task force identified a series of issues it said may be best suited for congressional action, including the fund’s statutory scope and purpose, its contribution methodology, governance structure, long-term funding architecture and the circumstances under which new programs could be created or existing programs significantly expanded. 

Participants generally agreed that such foundational decisions benefit from the “democratic legitimacy, accountability, and long-term stability” that Congress is uniquely positioned to provide, while the FCC would retain flexibility over the technical and administrative details of how those objectives are carried out.

The report points to broad public support for universal service, citing polling showing 80 percent of U.S. residents support continued legislative funding for low-income connectivity lifelines, including 78 percent of Americans age 50 and older; support reaches 90 percent among registered Democrats and 66 percent among registered Republicans.

“The report should serve as a wake up call to everyone that there is broad support for continuing the USF program to keep us one connected nation, and consensus on basic principles for how to reform the program,” said **Harold Feld**, senior vice president of Public Knowledge, which participated in the task force and endorsed the report.