On March 31, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission updated their Frequently Asked Questions for the Emergency Connectivity Program, indicating that $1.768 billion of the fund has been rescinded by Congress. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, enacted in March, requires the FCC to repay the rescinded funds to the U.S. Treasury by September 30, 2024.
Until the rescinded funds are returned by the Commission, USAC is unable to issue commitments and/or obligations of ECF funds. As a result, any action which requires a new obligation will be denied or placed on hold. This includes approval of waivers which would normally result in the restoration or increase of a funding commitment as well as post-commitment changes in service provider or invoice method. BEAR and SPI invoices for funding commitments which do not require these types of changes will continue to be processed normally.
According to a Funds For Learning analysis of committed but undisbursed funds, the $1.768 billion recission appears to be tied to ECF funds which will ultimately be “unused” by school and library applicants. The FCC’s Frequently Asked Questions document indicates that they “will not have unobligated funds available for new ECF commitments unless and until it satisfies the full amount of the rescission.”
More information may be found on the FCC’s site at https://www.fcc.gov/emergency-connectivity-fund-faqs, and USAC’s site at https://www.emergencyconnectivityfund.org/wp-content/uploads/ecf/Documents/newsletters/ECF-Newsletter-June-2024.pdf.
