Sponsor
Robin L. Kelly
Representative · D-IL
The bill expands and accelerates Lifeline outreach and verification funding to get discounted phone/internet to more low-income households—especially in tribal and rural areas—but does so with open-ended federal spending, reduced procedural transparency, privacy risks from data linking, and potential uneven access depending on state capacity.
Low-income households (including tribal, territorial, and rural residents) will be able to more quickly and easily get Lifeline discounts because outreach funding, streamlined eligibility verification, and easier proof-of-benefits reduce application friction.
State governments, Tribes, and community organizations will receive federal grant funding and verifier-connection support that lowers local implementation costs and helps close the digital divide, especially in tribal and territorial areas.
States and trusted local partners (nonprofits and community groups) will be able to run targeted outreach more cost-effectively because the FCC can prioritize high-reach projects and grants are required to be disbursed on an accelerated timeline.
Taxpayers will face increased federal spending because program implementation and grants are funded through open-ended appropriations described as 'such sums as may be necessary' without a fixed cap.
Low-income recipients risk privacy and data-security harms from linking benefit databases to a federal verifier if protections and safeguards are insufficient.
Low-capacity States, Tribes, and their residents may get uneven or delayed access to Lifeline benefits because competitive awards and varying technical readiness favor better-resourced jurisdictions.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Establishes FCC grants to fund State outreach to enroll eligible people in Lifeline and to connect State benefit databases to the Lifeline eligibility verifier.
Representative · D-IL
Official title: To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a program to make grants available to States to inform individuals of potential eligibility for the Lifeline program of the Commission, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 29, 2026 by Robin L. Kelly · Last progress April 29, 2026
Creates two FCC grant programs to increase enrollment in the Lifeline low-income phone/internet subsidy: a competitive outreach grant program for States, Territories, and Tribes to notify and help eligible-but-not-enrolled individuals apply; and a rapid-connection grant to link State benefit databases (for example SNAP) to the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier so benefit receipt can be used to verify Lifeline eligibility. Grants are discretionary, favor States with more eligible people and higher projected reach, require short regulatory timelines, and authorize “such sums as may be necessary” for the first several years.