FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
WASHINGTON
OFFICE OF
THE CHAIRMAN
November 12,2015
The Honorable Richard Blumenthal
United States Senate
702 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Blumenthal:
Thank you for your letter concerning the need to facilitate the enrollment of our Nation's
veterans in the Lifeline program. The Commission recognizes the valuable role the Lifeline
program can play in veterans' lives, particularly as they transition from the armed services to
civilian employment. As you state, the Lifeline program has been helping veterans stay
connected for over 30 years, and I share your interest in coordinating outreach efforts and
creating coordinated enrollment opportunities to ease burdens on participants in the program and
to coordinate outreach efforts to assist veterans who need Lifeline service to manage their day-
to-day lives.
In your letter, you detail the importance of data technology as a vital capability for low-
income and homeless veterans. I could not agree more. Broadband allows veterans to
participate more fully in our society and economy and to effectively manage the benefits they
have earned through serving our country. Importantly, veterans also obtain better health care
when they have broadband access - a recent study indicated that veterans with access to
telehealth applications had significantly fewer hospital enrollments and bed days of care I - and
broadband can help provide enhanced quality of life.
Your letter is extremely timely, as the Commission has already begun the process of
updating its Lifeline rules. In June, the Commission sought comment on several ways to
potentially increase veterans' access to the Lifeline program. First, the Commission sought
comment on how to coordinate Lifeline outreach and enrollment efforts with the Veterans
Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program, or any other federal program designed to assist
vulnerable veterans.? Second, the Commission sought comment on whether veterans and their
families who are eligible for the Veterans Pension benefit should automatically qualify for
J Adam Darkins et aI., Care Coordination/Home Telehealth: The Systematic implementation of Health informatics,
Home Telehealth, and Disease Management to Support the Care of Veteran Patients with Chronic Conditions, 14
Telemedicine and e-Health 1118, 1118-26 (2008), http://online.liebertpub.comJdoiJpdf/lO.1089/tmj.2008.0021 (last
visited September 29,2015).
2 Lifeline and Link Up Reform and Modernization, et al., we Docket No. 11-42 et a!., Second Further Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, Order on Reconsideration, Second Report and Order, and Memorandum Opinion and Order,
30 FCC Rcd 7818, 7856, para. 102 (2015).

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Lifeline support.' Finally, the Commission sought comment on ways to increase the awareness
of the Lifeline program to low-income veterans."
As the Commission moves forward with its plan to modernize the Lifeline program, I
look forward to finding ways to ensure that vulnerable veterans are aware of the Lifeline
program and the benefits it can bring to their lives. I appreciate your interest in this matter.
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
~ Sincerely, ~ I-
Tom Wheeler
3 !d. at 7861, para. 115.
4Id.