Hey everyone, I am attempting to write a little report on the Lifeline assistance program, the program which gives out "ObamaPhones." Now, this program was started under the watch of Ronald Reagan in 1985. Clinton, it seems, extended the program to include cell phones with the Telecommunications Act of 1997. So, I'm wondering if Reagan himself had anything to do with this program (something liberals seem to imply, but I can't find anything to prove or disprove it) or was just instituted during his administration. Also, what were some contributions George Bush made to the program? Thanks.
The original intent was to give a in house wire phone to poor households offering basic service, later when cell phones were more popular than land lines they added those to the program which was started under Bush Jr. if I recall correctly. Why is the program bad however its basic service most people need a phone especially the poor?
I never said it was bad. I just want to know if Ronald Reagan himself had anything to do with its inception. I'm trying to combat the myth of the "ObamaPhone." It's obvious that Obama himself didn't start it, but I want to see if this "socialist" program can be traced to the paragon of conservative Republicanism, Ronald Reagan.
Only thing I've got is that it was implemented by the Federal Communications Commission in 1984 (Source: Hayward, Origins on Obama Phone was 1984 with goal of service to low income Americans, Human Events, Vol. 68, p15). That came from a recommendation by the Federal-State Joint Board (see http://jthtl.org/content/articles/V5I2/JTHTLv5i2_HoltJamison.PDF ). Changes reflect factors such a low take-up
