Media Contact: 
Neil Grace, (202) 418-0506
neil.grace@fcc.gov
For Immediate Release
STATEMENT OF FCC CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI
ON THE GAO REPORT FINDING SIGNIFICANT RISKS
IN THE FCC’S LIFELINE PROGRAM
WASHINGTON, June 29, 2017. —This morning the Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
released a report finding that deceased individuals had enrolled in the program and noting that 
GAO could not confirm the eligibility of 36 percent of the subscribers it reviewed.  Federal 
Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement in response:
“Last year, I led an investigation into the Lifeline program that revealed serious weaknesses in 
federal safeguards. Today’s GAO report confirms what we discovered then: Waste, fraud, and 
abuse are all too prevalent in the program.  Commission staff and the Office of Inspector General 
have already been developing recommendations to better safeguard taxpayer funds.  I stand 
ready to work with my colleagues to crack down on the unscrupulous providers that abuse the 
program so that the dollars we spend support affordable, high-speed broadband Internet access 
for our nation’s poorest families.”
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Office of Chairman Ajit Pai: (202) 418-2000
Twitter: @AjitPaiFCC
www.fcc.gov/leadership/ajit-pai
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).