Tina Smith: “today I rise in support of fairness for rural America and introduce the Rural Universal Service Equity Act of 2003.…”

“today I rise in support of fairness for rural America and introduce the Rural Universal Service Equity Act of 2003. Universal service is a decades old Federal program intended to keep telephone service available and affordable across America. The Federal Universal Service Program has been a tremendous success. America's telephone network is the envy of the world. However, the program faces challenges, and it is imperfect. The Rural Universal Service Equity Act addresses an inequity in the way Universal Service support is distributed to rural customers served by larger phone companies. Under the program, only eight States receive funding. Three of those States receive more than 80 percent of the funds and one State receives more than half of all dollars available under the program. Yet many of the most rural States in America the very States the program was intended to assist--receive no funding at all. North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Iowa, Utah, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Nebraska and other rural States receive no funding under this program. My State of Oregon is an example of the unfairness of the program. Oregon has an average of 36 residents per square mile, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Oregon has many rural and remote areas but does not receive any funding under this program for larger carriers. However, States with between 60 and 101 residents per square mile or more than twice the density of Oregon--receive 90 percent of the funding.”