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| Hi there, In the next few months, the FCC will vote on a proposal to dismantle the Lifeline program, a move that would disconnect millions of people from vital communications services. Lifeline provides a modest $9.25 monthly subsidy so that people living below the poverty line can connect to phone and internet services. The program benefits poor people, people of color, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities. The rollback, proposed by FCC Chairman Pai and supported by the GOP majority, would devastate millions of people across the country and make it that much harder for poor people to connect with their families, access educational and economic opportunities, or even make lifesaving calls for help. Call the FCC and tell Chairman Pai and Commissioners Carr and O’Rielly to ditch this heartless plan. Chairman Pai has spent the last year talking about how the FCC will finally close the digital divide, but his plan to destroy Lifeline and disconnect millions would only worsen a problem he claims to care about. Last year, the Lifeline program helped more than 10 million people in the United States. And Pai’s plan would rob them of affordable phone and internet access. On top of being heartless, this plan is senseless: No one is asking for it — not even major phone and internet providers. Call the FCC today and tell Pai, Carr and O’Rielly to drop the proposal to dismantle Lifeline. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, the one remaining Democrat at the FCC, is vehemently opposed to the Lifeline rollback. She recently noted how disconnecting millions of people from phone and internet service is not only cruel, but also dangerous, especially for domestic-violence survivors who are seeking help.1 And worse still, Pai’s plan to gut Lifeline would cut off hundreds of thousands of people struggling to recover in hurricane-stricken areas like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.2 This plan is unconscionable — and we need your help to stop it. Don’t let Chairman Pai and Commissioners Carr and O’Rielly disconnect millions and leave them without vital forms of communication. Call the FCC today and tell the agency to abandon the plan to gut the Lifeline program. Thanks for all that you do— Lucia, Jessica, Collette and the rest of the Free Press team P.S. The ability to communicate can be a life-and-death issue. But the FCC majority is moving forward with a plan to disconnect millions of people in the United States who are living below the poverty line. Call the FCC today and tell it to stop the Lifeline rollback. 1. “How the FCC Will Make It Harder for Domestic Violence Survivors to Get Help,” Bustle, June 6, 2018: https://act.freepress.net/go/23211?t=9&akid=9759%2E10296224%2E5n_mBr 2. “Stop the FCC’s Plan to Disconnect Hurricane Survivors,” Free Press, April 29, 2018: https://act.freepress.net/go/23212?t=11&akid=9759%2E10296224%2E5n_mBr  |
Free Press and Free Press Action Fund are nonpartisan organizations fighting for your rights to connect and communicate. Learn more at www.freepress.net. |