E-rate program won’t be folded into block grants to states along ...

E-rate program won’t be folded into block grants to states along with Education Dept. technology programs in Bush Administration’s initial proposal to Congress, but that doesn’t mean it won’t meet that fate later, Education Dept. spokeswoman told us. E-rate supporters were cheered this week by Education Secy. Roderick Paige’s comments at House hearing that e-rate wouldn’t be included. But spokeswoman told us that was just for logistical reasons, since e-rate wasn’t funded by Education Dept. and no final policy decision had been made. “We are considering - - and continue to consider -- if the e-rate can or should be consolidated with other technology grant programs,” she said. “The fact that the e-rate is not in the Department’s jurisdiction makes the considerations different.” Several House Telecom Subcommittee members defended e-rate at Thurs. hearing. Ranking Commerce Committee Democrat Dingell (Mich.) said tinkering with e- rate would be “disaster for schools and libraries everywhere, but particularly those in the neediest areas of the country who have come to rely so heavily on this program.” However, Dingell also renewed his concerns that some telecom carriers might be over- collecting for e-rate and pocketing the difference. Subcommittee ranking Democrat Markey (Mass.) also backed e-rate, as did several witnesses. Meanwhile, Dingell said he would reintroduce his bill to use money from phone excise tax (estimated $6 billion per year) to pay for digital divide trust fund while excise tax was phased out over period of several years. He said some of that money could be used to strengthen NTIA’s Technology Opportunity Program (TOP), which is favored by Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.). Dingell said he would reintroduce bill with Rep. Towns (D-N.Y.) “in the near future” and hoped to work with Upton on it. He also took indirect swipe at FCC Chmn. Powell, who has questioned existence of meaningful digital divide. He said Powell’s father, Secy. of State Colin Powell, was member of board of PowerUp, “whose explicit mission is to close the digital divide. So it appears that at least the elder Powell would agree the digital divide issue is an important one.” Upton said he would focus on several education technology programs this year, not just e-rate and TOP. He singled out Instructional TV Fixed Service (ITFS) licenses, saying they were “very much on our Subcommittee’s radar screen as our nation grapples with spectrum management issues.” Full Committee Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.) said he wanted “every child in Louisiana to have access to the Internet” before he leaves Congress. However, he also said it was “important to understand” that closing digital divide “is not strictly dependent upon federal support,” praising companies such as WISH-TV that make voluntary contributions of Internet access.