Washington, D.C., July 2, 2007 - Support is growing among members of the Senate and House of Representatives for immediate action by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to impose a temporary cap on the funding received by competitive eligible telecommunications carriers (CETCs) from the high-cost universal service program. Excessive increases of more than 100 percent per year in universal service funding to CETCs have imperiled the financial viability of the Universal Service Fund (USF) without delivering commensurate benefits to consumers.

Letters - which include the following statements urging implementation of a temporary cap - have been sent during the past several days to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin:

Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-IA): 'I have heard from constituents in Iowa with concerns about this and they have asked me to reach out to you on their behalf. These Iowans request timely action by the FCC to impose a temporary emergency cap on universal funding for CETCs&Without an interim solution, Iowans will most likely continue to face rising phone bills&Consumers are getting stuck with these increases, and many of these consumers are in Iowa's most rural areas.' (6/19/07)

Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA): 'I am writing to you regarding the recommendation of the Federal-State Joint Board that a temporary, emergency cap be imposed on the Universal Service High-Cost Fund for Competitive Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (CETCs). This would be a crucial step toward comprehensive reform. I am concerned that without this interim step, my constituents will continue to face rising phone bills...It is a major concern that without a freeze on CETC support distributions, Pennsylvania's net contributor role to the federal USF will greatly increase.' (6/29/07)

Senator E. Benjamin Nelson (D-NE): 'I believe it is reasonable for the FCC to consider temporarily capping support to competitive ETCs, given the rapid growth of this part of the Universal Service Fund; however I urge the FCC to ensure that this is truly an interim solution.' (6/25/07)

Congressmen Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Vito Fossella (R-NY): 'We are concerned that without an interim solution our constituents will continue to face rising phone bills. As you know, recent growth in USF has been very significant. Much of the growth is attributable to subsidies for wireless and other 'competitive' carriers, which have grown in recent years at an annual rate of 100 percent. Funding for incumbent carriers, which is already capped, has remained flat since 2003. Without a cap, the Joint Board projects that USF funding for CETCs will rise as much as $500 million this year alone...An interim cap offers the promise of some relief until the day when the Commission can adopt comprehensive reform sooner rather than later.' (Joint Letter, 6/29/07)

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The Coalition to Keep America Connected is dedicated to ensuring that all consumers have access to affordable telecommunications services and the latest technologies-no matter where they live. The effort is organized by four rural telecom associations, whose memberships include 700 small and midsize communications companies. Together these companies serve millions of consumers and 40% of the landmass across America. Visit us at www.keepamericaconnected.org.