Hi there,

For the past several months, we’ve been gathering stories from people about what it would mean for them to lose access to Lifeline, which subsidizes phone and internet access for poor people. Share your story today and we’ll submit it to the FCC and demand that the agency’s Republican majority stop attacking Lifeline.

Here are some of the reasons Lifeline matters to its recipients:

“As a Lifeline beneficiary, I'd be lost without the support to pay my landline telephone bill. I'm a disabled veteran, and can't even afford a cellphone, so a landline is essential to call for help, and the support from Lifeline is essential to maintain that service.” —Ianto, Texas

“For many of us Lifeline means communication with medical help, online education and business as well as an interactive link to the world for homebound and rural citizens.” —Claudia, New Mexico

The Lifeline program provides a modest $9.25 monthly subsidy so that millions of people living below the poverty line can connect to vital communications services. But under Chairman Ajit Pai’s leadership, the FCC has proposed a heartless plan to roll back the program.

Pai has spent the last year talking about how the FCC will finally close the digital divide, but his plan to destroy Lifeline would rob millions of poor people of affordable phone and internet access, which would be especially harmful to people of color, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.

On top of being heartless, this plan is senseless: No one is asking for it — not even internet service providers. We can’t let this happen: Tell the FCC to drop its plan and leave Lifeline alone.

In the words of FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, “the future belongs to the connected.” We must oppose any policy that would make it even more difficult for people to connect and communicate.

If Ajit Pai and his fellow Republican commissioners move forward with the proposal to dismantle Lifeline, they will be disconnecting vulnerable communities — making it that much harder for poor people to connect with their families, access school and job opportunities, or even make a lifesaving call for help.

Tell Chairman Pai and the FCC majority to leave Lifeline alone.

Thanks for all that you do—

Lucia, Collette, Jessica and the rest of the Free Press team
freepress.net

P.S. Are you a Lifeline recipient? We’d love to hear your story about how the program benefits you. If you know someone else who uses Lifeline, please share this email with them. Thanks!

1. “Trump FCC Moves Forward Plans to Gut Lifeline Program and Strand Millions on the Wrong Side of the Digital Divide,” Free Press, Nov. 16, 2017: https://act.freepress.net/go/19117?t=9&akid=8775%2E10296224%2E7L5fs8

2. “How the Trump FCC Is Disconnecting the Poor,” Free Press, March 15, 2018: https://act.freepress.net/go/19747?t=11&akid=8775%2E10296224%2E7L5fs8

Free Press and the Free Press Action Fund are nonpartisan organizations fighting for your rights to connect and communicate. Learn more at www.freepress.net.

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