(Alexandria, Virginia) — The non-partisan 60 Plus Association today released the following statement in support of H.R. 4884, titled “Controlling the Unchecked and Reckless Ballooning of Lifeline Act of 2016” or the “CURB Lifeline Act of 2016”. Sponsored by Georgia Rep. Austin Scott (R), the legislation caps the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Lifeline program at $1.5 billion annually and ends that bureaucracy’s ability to adjust spending on the program even higher.

Said 60 Plus Vice President Matthew Kandrach, “With our nation barreling toward a $20 trillion debt, the CURB Lifeline Act of 2016 is an important piece of Congressional oversight that will prevent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars from being wasted this year.  The Lifeline program is already fraught with a staggering amount of waste, fraud and abuse, and capping the program is a sensible and necessary step to getting our nation’s budgetary priorities straight, both for taxpayers today and future generations who will be saddled with the tab.”

The Lifeline program is partially funded by a federal fee on cell phones, so capping the program also benefits cell phone users in the U.S. by keeping this fee lower.

“We know that seniors have to watch every penny in the current economic climate, and keeping their monthly cell phone bill from inflated fees is of great importance to them.  This legislation offers both the bonus of less government waste and lower cell phone fees to consumers and taxpayers, which is why we and our 7.2 million supporters nationwide stand behind this common sense legislation.”

###