HJR 6 am: Urging the United States Congress to safeguard the Universal Service Fund to ensure continued funding for essential programs that support critical broadband and telecommunication infrastructure and services for low-income rural residents of the state.
00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 6 am 01 Urging the United States Congress to safeguard the Universal Service Fund to ensure 02 continued funding for essential programs that support critical broadband and 03 telecommunication infrastructure and services for low-income rural residents of the 04 state. 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 WHEREAS the Universal Service Fund provides vital support to programs that fund 07 Internet and telephone services to support health care, education, consumer services, and 08 Lifeline telephone services in rural areas of the state; and 09 WHEREAS the programs the Universal Service Fund supports are essential for 10 providing equitable access to educational, health care, and economic opportunities for 11 residents of the state; and 12 WHEREAS geographic and economic challenges in rural areas of the state make 13 funding from the Universal Service Fund vital for connectivity and fixed and mobile 14 infrastructure development; and 15 WHEREAS an interruption to Universal Service Fund funding would have
01 devastating consequences for schools, libraries, health care providers, and the communities 02 served by those entities; and 03 WHEREAS the Universal Service Fund provides essential support for connectivity 04 for residents of the state by providing more than $500,000,000 annually in Universal Service 05 Fund funding; and 06 WHEREAS, if the Universal Service Fund terminates through inaction, 07 approximately 220 rural hospitals and health clinics would lose approximately $221,000,000 08 in annual support; and 09 WHEREAS, if the Universal Service Fund ceases to exist, approximately 500 rural 10 schools would lose affordable broadband connection; and 11 WHEREAS, without Universal Service Fund funding, many of the more than 108,000 12 students in the state would lose access to communication services supported by schools and 13 libraries; and 14 WHEREAS, if the Universal Service Fund ceases to exist, approximately 80 libraries 15 would lose affordable broadband connection; and 16 WHEREAS, if Universal Service Fund funding terminates, the state would lose 17 approximately $167,000,000 to connect rural households to basic telephone services, mobile 18 telephone services, and broadband; and 19 WHEREAS lack of Universal Service Fund funding could result in up to 19,000 20 residents of the state losing access to critical Lifeline-supported communications services; and 21 WHEREAS losing Universal Service Fund funding would widen the connectivity gap 22 between state residents and the rest of the United States, further disadvantaging state residents 23 based on where they live; 24 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully urges the Alaska 25 Congressional delegation and other members of the 119th United States Congress to 26 safeguard funding and the authority of the Universal Service Fund, including through 27 legislative measures if necessary to address legal concerns raised by judicial rulings; and be it 28 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages bipartisan 29 cooperation to ensure the sustainability of Universal Service Fund programs and the benefits 30 those programs offer to residents of underserved, rural areas of the state. 31 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Donald J. Trump, President
01 of the United States; the Honorable J. D. Vance, Vice President of the United States and 02 President of the U.S. Senate; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan 03 Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Nick Begich, U.S. Representative, members of the 04 Alaska delegation in Congress.