House committee reports resolution urging Congress to preserve Universal Service Fund

The House Labor and Commerce Committee on Feb. 3 reported out House Joint Resolution 6 urging the U.S. Congress to safeguard the Universal Service Fund, a federal subsidy program that committee witnesses said underpins broadband service, school connectivity and telemedicine in rural Alaska.

The resolution was reported out of committee with no recorded roll-call vote after officials from the Northwest Arctic Borough School District, the Maniilaq Association and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium described the potential harms to education and health care if USF funding were reduced or cut off.

Amy Aiken, director of technology for the Northwest Arctic Borough School District, told the committee the USF supports the district’s internet service and its loss would be “catastrophic.” Aiken said USF funds help sustain projects such as a roughly $73,000,000 NANA Regional Corporation broadband initiative and that the district would lose more than $19,000,000 from the E-rate program without USF support. “Without the USF, Alaska’s broadband infrastructure projects … would be significantly impacted,” she said.

Dr. Bob Anders, identified in testimony as chief medical officer for Maniilaq Association, described clinical care that depends on broadband — including village health aides using web-based community health manuals, transmitting EKGs and imaging to Kotzebue and Anchorage, and coordinating medevac transfers. “A similar technology dependent process occurs for hundreds of visits daily in our region from minor illnesses to life threatening emergencies,” Anders said.

Gareth Spargo, director of enterprise architecture at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, said tribal health organizations across Alaska depend on the USAC rural health care mechanism (funded through the Universal Service Fund) to operate medical-grade networks. Spargo testified that 22 tribal health organizations use the program to connect clinics in 192 communities and that those organizations rely on about $193,000,000 in annual subsidies. “Without these funds being able to cover ongoing networking costs, our tribal health partners will not be able to afford the network connectivity that enables modern healthcare delivery,” he said.

Committee members asked witnesses about alternative connectivity options, including satellite services such as Starlink. Witnesses said Starlink can serve as a backup but has limitations for year‑round reliability and guaranteed performance. Aiken said weather and hardware damage have left some sites without service for months and that district staff capacity to maintain satellite installations is limited. Spargo said Starlink is generally “best effort” service and does not provide the same guaranteed performance as USAC‑funded, dedicated circuits.

Christine O’Connor of the Alaska Telecom Association told the committee the national Universal Service Fund is roughly $8,000,000,000 and said the program’s abrupt loss would produce “catastrophic impacts in rural America, but Alaska first.” She described a range of potential legal outcomes from ongoing litigation — from Congress or the FCC changing program administration to a court striking down the program — and said Alaska stakeholders are building a record to support rapid federal action if needed.

Public testimony included one caller, David Neece of Cooper Landing, who said the resolution is a “good resolution” and urged preparation for the possibility that the program could end depending on pending court decisions.

Votes at a glance: The committee reported HJR 6 out of committee. Representative Hall moved to report HJR 6 (version LS0312); members raised no objection and the resolution was reported out with individual recommendations. No roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.

The resolution and testimony seek to inform federal decision-makers and to provide documentation Alaska’s congressional delegation and state officials could use if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a Fifth Circuit decision that treated the universal service fee as a tax. Committee members and witnesses repeatedly emphasized that while satellite service can supplement connectivity, USF‑supported circuits and subsidies currently enable guaranteed bandwidth and resiliency that remote schools, clinics and hospitals rely on for everyday operations and life‑saving care.

The committee adjourned after signing instructions for the committee report.