Media Contact:
Matthew Berry, (202) 418-2005
matthew.berry@fcc.gov
For Immediate Release
STATEMENT OF FCC COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI
On the Decision to Allow Continued Abuse of the Lifeline Program
WASHINGTON, DC, February 2, 2016.—Liberal journalist Michael Kinsley once famously said that in 
Washington, “[t]he scandal isn’t the illegal behavior—the scandal is what’s legal.”  That aphorism 
captures one of the most galling aspects of today’s FCC’s Lifeline program: the bloated taxpayer subsidy 
in Oklahoma.  Thanks to an FCC decision today, the scandal will continue.
Here’s the background.  The typical Lifeline subsidy is $9.25 per month.  But those who live on 
tribal lands receive $34.25 per month, whether or not they are members of a Tribe.  This matters because 
the FCC has treated virtually all of Oklahoma as tribal land.  So 99.89% of Oklahomans who are eligible 
for the Lifeline program have been receiving the enhanced tribal subsidy. And the Lifeline program has 
been giving carriers in Oklahoma six times the national average of support, and about ten times the 
amount that carriers in neighboring Kansas receive.
Last June, the Commission recognized the absurdity of this situation and declared that those 
living in much of Oklahoma—including Oklahoma City—would no longer be eligible for tribal subsidies 
starting February 9.  There’s no good reason to subsidize all Oklahoma City residents as if they were 
tribal members living on tribal lands.  As I pointed out then, if Oklahoma’s Lifeline spending per person 
were only twice the national average, American taxpayers would save over $89 million a year.
But this outrageous abuse of the program will continue.  Despite the FCC’s earlier decision, the 
Wireline Competition Bureau decides today that the taxpayer spigot can stay open for at least another four 
months.  This comes after the Bureau previously denied a request to keep the subsidies flowing,
1
and after 
the courts rejected a similar request.
2
  What’s the supposed reason?  A disagreement over the maps 
covering a different part of Oklahoma.  In other words, for four additional months the Lifeline program 
will keep distributing enormous subsidies at taxpayer expense to serve many areas, including Oklahoma 
City, that everyone agrees aren’t eligible for tribal support.  What a waste.
With decisions like this, it is no wonder that the American people lack confidence in our ability to 
manage the Lifeline program properly.  And it is no wonder why many are skeptical that any future 
expansion of the program will be fiscally responsible.  The scandal is what’s legal.
###
Office of Commissioner Ajit Pai: (202) 418-2000
Twitter: @AjitPaiFCC
www.fcc.gov/leadership/ajit-pai
                                                     
1
Lifeline And Link Up Reform and Modernization et al., WC Docket Nos. 11-42, 09-197, 10-90, 30 FCC Rcd 12379 
(Wireline Comp. Bur. 2015).
2
Assist Wireless, LLC v. FCC, Case No. 15-1324, Order (D.C. Cir. Dec. 23, 2015).
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official 
action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).