E-Rate: $1.3B in Unspent Funds

Staff -- Library Journal, 2/26/2001

The E-rate program of telecomm discounts has $1.3 billion in unspent funds, according to a December report from the General Accounting Office (GAO). As Wired News reports, the GAO cites confusing applications and weak invoice review procedures, which have caused some applicants to not claim money due them. "It is currently unclear what percentage of committed funds will ultimately be used," the report states. "We're asking the schools and libraries program to look into this," said a GAO official, who noted that problems are not unusual in a program of this size. Melvin Blackwell, a spokesman for the Universal Service Administrative Company, said that some of the surplus is used for an appeals fund. Some of those unspent funds would be used if Congress passes the Children's Access to Technology Act, which would provide $100 million for needy schools.