So much for Trump helping the middle class and the poor.
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), newly under Republican control, on Friday blocked nine internet companies from providing service to low-income users, curtailing a groundbreaking program green-lit during the previous administration.
Under the new Republican FCC chairman Ajit Pai, an appointee of President Donald Trump, the commission told the handful of internet service providers (ISPs) that they could not take part in the Lifeline broadband program just weeks after the companies were qualified. Lifeline, approved in 2015, subsidizes internet access for low-income consumers as part of the FCC's efforts to recognize broadband services as an essential public utility.
The nine ISPs' status are now considered "pending." Their bids will be reconsidered after "additional time to consider measures that might be necessary to prevent further waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program," the FCC wrote in its statement, echoing terminology often invoked by Republicans, including Trump, as an excuse to cut safety net programs.
GOPUSA - FCC stops 9 companies from providing federally subsidized Internet to low income people
Trump's FCC Blocks ISPs from Giving Low-Income Families Web Access | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community