WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday approved the Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill, which included two key provisions sponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).   The first provision would exempt the Universal Service Fund (USF) from the Antideficiency Act (ADA) for another year. The language would provide relief from an accounting rule that would otherwise delay important broadband funds from being delivered to schools and libraries.  This fix was first put in place after application of the ADA resulted in millions of dollars in delayed funding, which threatened technology programs at countless schools across the nation.

"This legislative fix is needed to ensure that students in Alaska and around the nation have access to broadband and distance learning tools,” said Senator Stevens.  “Telemedicine for rural health clinics is also dependent on this funding which Congress cannot allow to be disrupted.”

The second provision included in the bill would prevent universal service support from being restricted to primary phone lines.  Small businesses in rural America, including Alaska, receive assistance from the Universal Service Fund (USF) to keep phone access affordable.  Previous proposals for universal service reform recommended restricting this assistance to primary business phone lines only. Small businesses in rural America often require a second phone line for a fax machine or other business needs, and this measure would ensure that universal service funds are available and that these second phone lines remain affordable.

“This primary line restriction would adversely affect small businesses and consumers in rural parts of America, including my home state of Alaska,” said Senator Stevens.  “A second phone line or fax is often critical to the success of small businesses.  I am pleased to see this provision included so that our universal service program will continue to improve the lives of rural Americans.”

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