The Federal Communications Commission has not developed
sufficient performance goals and measures to assess and
manage its E-rate program, the government Accountability
Office has said.
It said about $13 billion has passed through the program
since 1998 to provide schools and libraries with Internet
and telecommunications services, and that recently
allegations of fraud, waste and abuse by program
participants have come up.
FCC did not thoroughly assess which federal requirements,
policies, and practices apply to the program, and set it
up in an unusual way, according to GAO-05-151.
“The program is administered by a private, not-for-profit
corporation with no contract or memorandum of understanding
with FCC, and program funds are maintained outside of
the U.S. Treasury, raising issues related to the
collection, deposit, obligation, and disbursement of the
funding,” said the report.
It said program goals for fiscal 2000 through 2002 on the
percentage of public schools connected to the Internet
failed to account for the actual role E-rate funding played
by not distinguishing between other sources – and goals
for improving program management have been missing from
FCC’s performance plans.
While FCC is developing new goals, its “oversight mechanisms
contain weaknesses” limiting program management and the
commissions ability to grasp the scope of any waste, fraud
and abuse within the program, said GAO.
It also said that while audits of E-rate beneficiaries have
been conducted, FCC has been slow to respond to audit
findings and make full use of them to strengthen the program.
