For Immediate Release
Contact: Hilary Shelton, NAACP, 202-463-2940

NAACP Approves Resolution Supporting Fair Universal Service Funding Methodology

(Baltimore, MD) October 26, 2004 --- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation’s oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots based civil rights organization, approved a resolution supporting the current fair Universal Service Fund (USF) collection system. The resolution calls for President George W. Bush, the United States Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to "carefully weigh the impacts of any intended reforms to the universal service funding methodology." The NAACP is especially concerned about how some proposals that are currently before the FCC could impact the nation’s most vulnerable consumers, including racial and ethnic minorities; low and fixed income individuals; and the elderly in both rural and urban areas.

The resolution, unanimously passed at the NAACP’s July 2004 convention in Philadelphia, PA and ratified this month by the National Board, supports the current revenue-based USF funding methodology. The FCC is considering changing the way the USF is collected to a subscriber (connection) fee, meaning that each long distance customer would pay their long distance carrier the same amount regardless of minutes used. The resolution states, "The NAACP recognizes that this drastic shift in USF funding support would hardest hit low-income, residential and low-volume long distance users, a disproportionate number of whom are minorities represented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People."

Hilary Shelton, the NAACP’s Washington Bureau Director and person responsible for representing the NAACP’s interests before the legislative and executive branches of the federal government, noted, "The USF has been instrumental in ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable, comprehensive telecommunications services, particularly consumers in high-cost service areas, low-income consumers, schools, libraries and rural health providers." Added Shelton, "Today, the Board on behalf of more than 500,000 card carrying members throughout the nation will continue to fight to make sure that racial and ethnic minorities, the elderly and the poor will not unfairly bear the burden of contributing to the universal service fund."

Shelton explained that NAACP will call upon its more than 2,200 units covering all 50 states, and the District of Columbia to communicate to the African American community and to federal, state and local elected officials the importance of maintaining a USF funding methodology that will not harm the very people that the USF was created to protect.

Moving to a flat-fee for USF would mean that residential customers would pay the same as business customers and low volume callers would pay the same as high volume callers. Shelton emphasized, "This is particularly unfair and burdensome to consumers on fixed-incomes who may see their phone bills increase even when they budget to make few or no long distance calls."

The resolution recognizes that the current revenue-based funding methodology provides a very equitable, nondiscriminatory, and competitively neutral approach to funding the USF fund and the proposed alternative connection based methodology does not.

Finally, Shelton noted that the NAACP will work closely with the Keep USF Fair Coalition (www.keepusffair.org) -- a group of 14 national organizations – to maintain the viability of the Universal Service Fund.

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The Keep USF Fair Coalition was formed in April 2004. Current members include: Alliance For Public Technology, Alliance For Retired Americans, American Association Of People With Disabilities, Black Leadership Forum, Consumer Action, Deafness Research Foundation, Gray Panthers, League Of United Latin American Citizens, National Association Of The Deaf, National Grange, National Hispanic Council on Aging, National Native American Chamber of Commerce, Telecommunications Research & Action Center, and World Institute On Disability. Coalition supporters include the NEA, AARP and NAACP, who have filed comments with the FCC in support of a non-regressive USF collection method.

For more information on the coalition, or to join, visit www.keepusffair.org or call Keep USF Fair: 202-263-2920