On January 10, 2018, the Senate passed bill, S. 875, that would require the Government Accounting Office (GAO) to study and submit a report on the various filing requirements under the Universal Service Fund (USF) programs. More specifically the bill would require GAO to “…submit a report assessing the financial impact of these filings and recommending how to consolidate any redundant filing requirements. The bill also would require the FCC to incorporate the GAO report in an FCC rulemaking regarding consolidation of redundant filing requirements. The FCC also would be required to consider whether any recommendation would affect the FCC’s ability to prevent and take enforcement action against waste, fraud, and abuse…”
The House of Representatives must also vote to approve this bill and the President must sign this piece of legislation into law before it goes into effect.